Wisdom and Intelligence

I grew up thinking I was quite stupid, because I believed my father, who repeatedly asked me, "How can you be so stupid?"

I didn't quite know how to answer him. I mean if I'm truly stupid, why would he ask me questions that a stupid person couldn't answer?

What his comments did for me though, was make me want to be smart, very smart – no – genius smart. However, when I received A's on my report cards, I reasoned that they had to have been a fluke. Through some magical ability, I must have answered questions correctly or figured things out accidentally.

As an adult, I have learned that, despite the filter that absorbed the "stupid" comments, I really do have a brain, I really can think, and I really am reasonably intelligent, but, like Albert Einstein, I believe, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."

And, as I've gotten even older, I've realized that I don't really want to be just smart, I want to be wise. Wisdom has become more important to me than intelligence.

According to the dictionary, wisdom comes from having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. Experience I have and continue to have, knowledge I am always attaining; good judgment, on the other hand, is a struggle for me. I want to believe that everybody is compassionate and caring and I am always surprised to find out that not all of them are. When will I learn?

Hopefully never. I hold out hope that conscienceless people will learn to be compassionate and caring. Hope truly does spring eternal in me.

I leave you with these words of wisdom, "The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind." ~ Kahlil Gibran

And that completes Day #23 from the A-Z Challenge. Brought to you by the letter, W.

Previous A-Z Challenge blogs:

Amazon Hates Me – Day #1 from the A-Z Challenge

Bored – Why? – Day #2 from the A-Z Challenge

Craziness – Day #3 from the A-Z Challenge

When Your Daughter Develops, DON'T DO THIS! – Day #4 from the A-Z Challenge

Ellen – Day #5 from the A-Z Challenge

Family and Friends – Day #6 from the A-Z Challenge

The Grownup Table – Day #7 from the A-Z Challenge

Happiness & Joy – Day #8 from the A-Z Challenge

Idiots in the Attic – Day #9 from the A-Z Challenge

Jokes Accidentally – Day #10 from the A-Z Challenge

The Kid That Wasn't Named Ker – Day #11 from the A-Z Challenge

Living Out of Suitcases – Day #12 from the A-Z Challenge

Misunderstandings – I KNOW You Didn't Say What I THINK You Said

Networked Blogs on Facebook


The Old and The Elderly – At What Age Do You FEEL Old?


Peacocks Are Not Penguins

Quiz That Changed My Thinking

Reading Les Miserable
  
Sense and Nonsense

The Traumatization of a Third Grader

Under Pressure

Vitality, Vivaciousness, and Victory