Food for Thought – March 30th, 2017
by Leigh Currey Merrifield, Editor
It has been said that ‘wisdom comes with age’ – or at least sometimes it does!
There is no established age (like say 55, for example) when we suddenly become “wise”. Perhaps it is not wisdom so much as accumulated experience that is the key. Of course, there are probably some who may not learn from their past experiences, and in those instances, wisdom may escape them!
The first thing we have to realize is that there is a difference between wisdom and intelligence. There are many intelligent people who have a great ability to learn and process information; however, wisdom enters into the picture because of both accumulated knowledge and more importantly EXPERIENCE. There has, in fact, been research done on this topic. Youthful brains, so they say, are ruled by chemicals that fuel emotion and impulse. Often their thoughts center around what delivers an immediate reward. The older (or shall we say ‘more mature’?) brain, although it may function a little slower, is less likely to respond thoughtlessly and more likely to be rational and deliberate in its thoughts – thus resulting in better decision-making.
One good finding is that because the brain doesn’t lose its ability to grow, there are always opportunities for older folks to learn new skills! That is great news for aging adults – just keep learning and growing wiser!
Okay, enough seriousness; let me interject a little humor. Listed below are some humorous conclusions that more mature adults have drawn after they’ve accumulated some experience in life. They may not exactly exhibit wisdom, however. See how many of these questions you have perhaps asked yourself????
– Can there be anything worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong?
– Remember refusing to take a nap when you were younger? We totally take that back at a certain age, don’t we?
– Why has no one invented a ‘sarcasm’ font for the computer?
– Really, how ARE you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
– Was learning cursive really necessary?
– Shouldn’t Map Quest start their directions on #5? I’m pretty sure we all know how to get out of our own neighborhood!
– Wouldn’t obituaries be a lot more interesting if they told how the person died?
– Don’t bad decisions make ‘good stories’ later in life?!!!
– Isn’t there just a moment when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day?
– Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection again!
– Isn’t it a little terrifying when you exit out of Word on your computer and it asks you if you want to save any changes to your ten-page technical report that you swear you didn’t make any changes to?
– Don’t you hate it when you just miss a call by the last ring? Then when you immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did the person calling you do when you didn’t answer – drop the phone and run away?
– Ever keep someone’s phone number in your phone storage just so you’ll know when NOT to answer your phone when they call?
– Doesn’t the freezer deserve a light too?
– Why do we carry ten over-loaded plastic bags in each hand rather than make more than one trip to bring the groceries in?
– How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word someone said?
– Don’t you just love the camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front of the line of traffic?
– Is there no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far?
– Even under ideal conditions, people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket or finding their cell phone. So why is it we can find and push the snooze button on the alarm clock from three feet away in about 1.7 seconds … in the dark and with our eyes closed … first time, every time?
It appears that the ‘fountain of age’ is hard at work! See what wisdom has been gathered through the years enabling mature minds to ask these questions?! The next time someone comments on your gray hair, just tell them it’s “wisdom highlights”!!!
This week’s dessert: “Wisdom doesn’t always come with age; sometimes age shows up all by itself!” – Tom Wilson