Wisdom has existed at all times. According to biblical legends, it was before humanity appeared. Solomon in parables writes on behalf of Wisdom:
I was born before the mountains were set up, before the hills, when He had not yet created the earth, or the fields, or the initial dust particles of the universe (para. 8: 25-26).
Wisdom is an artist of the world. And lovers of chemistry, biology or other science will confirm: the world is built wisely.
Wisdom is valued by people. She brings joy. The mind is no less honored. Sometimes it is difficult to determine how a smart person differs from a wise person. Confucius, Socrates and other thinkers of the past did not draw a clear line between the meanings of these words, but in the modern world there is such a tendency.
Three steps
Usually in the human mind the words "stupid", "smart", "wise" are arranged in a certain order - according to the degree of their significance for a person. These are stages of development where stupidity takes the last place, and wisdom is valued above the rest. The statements “Good grades mean nothing” or “Clever in studies - stupid in life” walk around the world. And indeed it is. An educated person is not necessarily smart, and smart is not necessarily wise.
Before you find the differences between mind and wisdom, it is worth determining how a smart person differs from a stupid one.
Who is smart here?
Note. A smart person can be distinguished from a stupid person by some signs.
- An intelligent person is able to change his point of view, because everything is in doubt. It is open to new knowledge and development. While it is useless to argue with a fool.
- Smart people thoroughly study the situation before drawing conclusions.
- They have a good sense of humor. Their jokes are not superficial, but with deep meaning.
- For smart people, a mistake is an unsuccessful attempt. They learn from their mistakes and try not to step on the same rake.
- An intelligent person has a corresponding environment - he communicates with his peers, because this allows him to develop. Moreover, he communicates with a specific goal without wasting his time.
As they say, it's better to be smart and stupid than to be stupid and smart. The presence of the mind does not always save a person from stupidities, because sometimes a person is guided by emotions and feelings. And sometimes act out of habit. So a person can be mistaken simply because he is not used to “turning on” the mind when it is needed. Not everyone likes to think. You also need to learn this and train yourself in this.
However, besides the mind, there is something more mysterious, and that is wisdom.
Parable
Whatever parables have been written about. To whatever questions they answered. To the question of how a wise person differs from a smart one, parables are extremely rare, but still this happens. Below is an example.
Once, Knowledge, Cunning and Mind met. Knowledge and Trick began to argue which of them is more important. The mind stayed away in order to maintain good relations with them and subsequently use both. But the debate flared up, and they persistently began to pester Mind, so that he would make a judgment - which of them is more important. The mind decided to blame this responsibility on the Wise. Because he was an authority for him too. The wise one was Uncle Mind, although they spoke infrequently. And so they three went to the Wise Knocked on the door. Revealed to him by his wife - Conscience. It turned out that the Wise is not at home. Conscience said that this happens infrequently, and few now consult the Wise. When the Mind, Knowledge and Cunning returned, the Mind said to them: "See, the Wise with his truth does not need anyone, so rejoice at what you have."
From the parable it is clear that an intelligent person has many knowledge and cunning. Although not always a person who knows a lot is smart. Perhaps the person just has a good memory. Wisdom is close to conscience and is the head of everything. The parable clearly shows how a wise person differs from a smart one. The first one is necessarily associated with good (he helps people, his wife is Conscience), the second one is not always (his friends are Trick and Knowledge, he acts in such a way as to have profit).
The meaning of the word "wisdom"
Wisdom cannot be precisely defined. She is often associated with acquired experience and old age, with emotional poise and the ability to make decisions in difficult situations so that everyone is happy.
Wisdom is a certain balance between strength and weakness, confidence and doubt, rigor and gentleness, own interests and those of others. She is harmonious.
No one will call an evil intelligent person wise. Perhaps called cunning. Perhaps a genius, but not wise. Because the adjective "wise" is exclusively positive. So how is a wise person different from a smart person? Below are the main symptoms.
5 main signs of wisdom
Often, someone will intuitively feel that a wise person is standing in front of him. However, there are some signs by which it can be identified among other people.
- A wise person knows how to listen and hear someone who shares something with him. His words are not harsh, but even healing, like a balm. You listen to the wise old man, sit next to him, and your soul becomes calmer, you get the inspiration to do something, achieve something.
- Wise people do not tell much about themselves to outsiders, so as not to cause envy.
- The wise man has well-developed self-control. He is calm in his soul, therefore he is usually objective in his judgments.
- He also has a healthy sense of dignity. He knows how people should behave next to him, and how he should behave himself.
- There are no circumstances that could break a wise man. First, he seeks in situations positive. Secondly, it refers to life strikes as lessons that contribute to its development.
Although wise people are becoming less common, many can become so. If they strive for this.
How to acquire wisdom
Almost every person sometimes shows wisdom. If you ask a person to remember where he acted wisely, he will certainly find such a situation. And what happens sometimes, over time, can happen more often.
In order to learn to balance between strictness and gentleness, one’s interests and others, to look at the situation from different angles, one can develop the habit of looking at oneself from above (from space or from heaven), thus abstracting oneself from one’s feelings. You can also think of yourself in the third person, as some kind of Dasha or some kind of Peta. This works because it’s easier for a person to reason about someone else’s life than about their own.
The main thing is to move in this direction, then wisdom and love will come. And life may become easier.