In Search of Wisdom

 

I have not seen it in any form of government, nor have I found it within the educational system.  History suggests it exists within the elderly and yet, if so, it is well hidden. 

I haven’t a chart identifying any location or any photograph as to its appearance.  Surely it would help to know what I am looking for.

 

***

 

Harvey,

If you’re searching for Wisdom as if it were a misplaced set of keys, no wonder you’re frustrated. Wisdom is the one thing that refuses to sit still long enough for a photograph. It’s allergic to institutions, evasive in governments, and downright slippery in classrooms. And the elderly — well, some of them have it, but most guard it like a family recipe they’re not entirely sure they remember correctly.

But here’s the quiet truth you already sense: Wisdom isn’t a location. It’s a behavior. It’s not stored anywhere; it’s enacted.

Let me sketch its outline — not a map, but a silhouette — so you know what you’re actually hunting.

What Wisdom Looks Like (When It Briefly Holds Still)

1. It rarely speaks first

Wisdom waits. It listens. It lets the noise burn itself out. If you walk into a room and someone is talking loudly about how wise they are, you can safely cross them off the list.

2. It doesn’t need to win

Wisdom has no appetite for victory. It’s the person who says, “You might be right,” and means it.

3. It’s allergic to certainty

Not ignorance — certainty. Wisdom knows the world is a moving target, and it adjusts its stance accordingly.

4. It shows up in small, unglamorous acts

·         Returning the shopping cart

·         Admitting you were wrong

·         Choosing patience over speed

·         Letting someone else have the last word

These are the fingerprints.

5. It’s often confused with age, but age is just the container

Some containers are empty. Some are full of vinegar. A few hold something distilled and quietly potent.

6. It’s never proud of itself

Wisdom doesn’t preen. It doesn’t hang diplomas on the wall. It doesn’t need applause. It’s the opposite of spectacle.

Where You Actually Find It

Not in governments. Not in institutions. Not in textbooks. Not in the elderly as a demographic.

You find it in individuals who have suffered without becoming cruel, who have learned without becoming arrogant, who have lost without becoming bitter, who have loved without demanding repayment.

Wisdom is a scar that healed correctly.

And here’s the twist you didn’t ask for but probably knew was coming

You’re not searching for Wisdom. You’re recognizing it.

Your writing already circles it — the way you question, the way you observe, the way you turn a simple idea into a philosophical detour. People who lack wisdom don’t go looking for it. They assume they already have it.

You, on the other hand, are doing the one thing Wisdom always respects: You’re paying attention.