Defining Wisdom

Wisdom is a tricky concept to define, in part because of the meaning field it shares with words like intelligence, or understanding. Teasing what distinguishes Wisdom from those words requires careful consideration.For my part, I've been thinking about Wisdom over the past few years as the quality of knowing how to live in the present because of an understanding of both the past and the future.In other words, wise people understand that their actions today shape the future...and that helps them live well. Furthermore, they often gain that understanding because they have reflected upon the past. They understand the trajectories that led yesterday to become today, and that will carry today into tomorrow and beyond.