Age & Wisdom and All That Stuff

I had a chance meeting with an old friend this week, someone I worked with 15 years ago.  He's a global traveller and always on the move in his job, and I knew there'd be some point when we were both in the same city.  I'll admit I don't remember everyone I worked with in the late 1990's, nor would I go out of my way to go sit down and have a coffee with them, but this person is special, he's always been my 'poster-child' of common sense, and I really like him.

I was actually looking for something when we met, I had an ulterior motive admittedly beyond just catching up.  I was looking to speak with him for a little while to see if common sense had matured into wisdom.  You see I've always been curious as to the nature of wisdom.  Sure, it comes with age and experience - I get that part.  But just as an Oak tree doesn't grow from a Lilac tree sapling, wisdom must have it's origins in a specific type of person, or personality.

I won't offer my conclusions here, suffice it to say people with wisdom continue to impress me.  It seems so rare a quality in society at large that we ought to value it highly, if only for its scarcity.  When combined with a strong ethical compass, it's the stuff great leadership is made of.

While I don't consider my efforts this week to have been at all scientific to determine the roots of wisdom, I am clear that it remains important to ask the question, and continue doing so.  After all if we're each on our own journey as the days go by, we should in my humble opinion aim for wisdom as a destination.  It does seem like the biggest possible gift we receive as we get older.