I recently saw a quote that read something like this:  “To be wise is not the same as having wisdom.” Considering the title of this newsletter and that of my first book is Listening to Life:  Wisdom in Life’s Stories, it is easy to see how the message caught my attention, and that led me to some research.

To be wise refers to one’s ability to have good judgement in making decisions while having wisdom refers to a collection of knowledge and insights that come through life experiences, according to the descriptions of some online references. Heading into the conclusion of one year and the start of another seems like a good time to consider those distinctions.

In each moment, hour, day, week, month and year, experiences provide opportunities to make wise decisions; likewise, each provides the opportunity to gain wisdom through observation, listening, reflection and discernment. Wise decisions can be affected by wisdom, but a lot of wisdom is gained by making both wise and unwise decisions. I suspect that this past year has provided you with plenty of opportunity to make both types of decisions. The key question is whether you learned along the way. Did you also learn from the experiences of others? It would be wise to do so.

This is a great time to consider what the educational program of life has provided this past year, and what areas you might to want to learn more in the coming year.

Come to think of it, the time of year has nothing to do with the consideration of wisdom gained by paying attention to life. Listen to life. There is wisdom to be gained from stories – your own and those of others. Buddhist wisdom declares that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. By paying attention to life and listening to stories, you will notice that teachers are appearing constantly. Everything that happens and everyone you encounter provides learning opportunities, subtle and sublime, to gain wisdom.

Here’s to a year of wise decisions made and wisdom gained.