Wisdom:

As I write this, I have to wonder why this is the last virtue I write about. After all, isn't it the most important of them? Don't we all know what wisdom is?

I'm not so sure that I fully understand what wisdom really is. I can't think of one time that I've looked at a person and said, "Wow, they're really wise!" I've often said that people are "knowledgeable," "thoughtful," or "intelligent," but never that a person is "wise."

Perhaps this is because we don't run into the same problems that our ancestors did. While they had to hunt for food, predict the weather, or protect themselves from incursions, we don't have to do that on a daily basis. The application of knowledge no longer deals with these particular items.

When we talk about wise people, we usually discuss people like Merlin, Solomon, or Arthur. Generally, these are people that we look back on, or that we see attributes in their decision-making process that we admire. The idea of a sage-king or a hermit-sage doesn't exist in our society any longer.

In light of this, I suppose what the virtue means is that we need to make good decisions, and to remain unbiased in those decisions. While no one might call me wise, I hope I can provide good advice when asked, and can relate that advice to another. When the road forks, I hope I can take the correct road. I hope that I can avoid temptations that would lead me to numerous problems.

That is how I hope to display this virtue, not through becoming a sage or a wise king, but through learning and enlightened choices.

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