Wisdom accumulates—not in a linear arithmetic progression but in a complex, dynamic system. Each understanding sheds light upon the others in an interactive living process. Insights that seem unassailable may suddenly meet passionate doubt, all clarity shattered at the very moment it is most needed. Then, just as suddenly, wisdom will resurface, stronger for having vanished, wisdom that now knows of its own disintegration.
Nina Wise, "Sudden Awakening"
I read this quote, and I had this click in my brain that said I have seen or heard this before, but not in this lifetime! It seems that one of the life lessons that I have chosen is to find out how wisdom works. What I mean is, what is the shifting point where we move from having random knowledge to the point of having great wisdom?
The Mayan believed that the shift to wisdom happens between fifty and fifty-four years old – if the person lived that long. Most indigenous peoples do move their adults to an honoured position of “elder” at about the same time. Very rarely does one become an elder at a younger age. So, the question for me is – does the time frame that you are alive automatically qualify you to be wise; or, is it that something chemically happens in your brain to make you wise?
In the reading that I have been doing, it seems that there is an actual, physical, chemical change in the brain around this age of life. This change also seems to be reflected in the emotional, mental, and spiritual make up of the person. Perhaps that saying is true. “As we get older, we get smarter!”
What are your thoughts about this?
Many blessings,
Judy
