Essay On Wisdom

769 Words4 Pages
Wisdom Wisdom is a personality possession that one gains over a lifetime of experience “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ― Aristotle (goodreads). It is a possession that is placed upon a person, rather than one that the person realizes on his or her own. Wisdom consists of many other traits, but the requirement that it is recognized by people other than the ones possessing it set wisdom apart from other personality traits. Wisdom is a mixture of a life's experience marked by humility, kairos, and unselfishness. Wisdom is an idea that is often confused with or improperly related to old age. Not all old people are wise, though many are. On the other hand, not all wise people are old. One often hears the phrase "wise beyond years"…show more content…
Kairos means proper timing and measure in all things (Bing search Engine) . A wise person does not offer more than is required, nor does he or she forget important information. The mark of true wisdom is also a sense of timing that is most useful to the receiver. As with humility, a wise person does not take in account what will be most timely for his or herself, but what is best for the other person “Life is a long lesson in humility.” ― J.M. Barrie, The Little Minister (goodreads) The wise person knows when to step into a situation and when to let things run their courses. The wise person has the ability to understand not only a situation, but the people within that situation “Every person that you meet knows something you don't; learn from them.” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr. The last mark of wisdom is unselfishness. Unselfishness differs from humility in the respect that humility requires someone to be praised or recognized in order to rebound that praise or recognition onto others. Unselfishness requires nothing more than the constant thought of others' interests and wellbeing over ones' own. This mark of wisdom sets true wisdom apart from intelligence or learning. Anyone can have the right answer at the right time, but only those who possess true wisdom are ready to sacrifice themselves and their own interests to provide sound advice or information to others. This is the essential part of unselfishness as it marks
Open Document