Welcome.
Today we're going to talk about wisdom.
Let's start with a simple but important truth.
Getting older doesn't guarantee getting wiser.
That can feel uncomfortable to admit.
Many of us grow up hearing,
With age comes wisdom.
As the wisdom is something handed out to each passing year.
Like a milestone,
Gift,
We're automatically entitled to.
But deep down,
Many of us have seen otherwise.
We've known people who lived long lives,
But still carry the same grudges,
Repeat the same arguments,
Hold the same fears.
And we've also met people far younger who seem to carry a calm understanding,
A quiet grounding wisdom that is well beyond their years.
That's because wisdom isn't something time gives us.
Wisdom is something we grow into through choice and not just age.
Wisdom begins when we become truly present with our own lives.
Time alone doesn't teach us.
Years can pass without real growth if we're not paying attention.
If we're distracted,
Numb,
Or just going through the motions.
It's easy to fall into routine,
To check boxes,
To live out habits that were never examined.
But wisdom doesn't come from repeating the same year over and over.
It comes from waking up inside the life we already have.
When we slow down enough to notice how we're reacting,
Feeling,
And choosing,
Something can open.
We can begin to see the patterns that keep us stuck.
We start noticing the small,
Quiet lessons hidden in every day's moments.
That's where wisdom takes root.
Not in time passing,
But in presence.
Without reflection,
We end up living the same stories again and again.
We've all experienced disappointment,
Heartbreak,
Failure.
But those experiences alone don't make us wiser.
It's what we do with them that counts.
When we take time to reflect,
Honestly and gently,
We give ourselves a chance to understand what's really going on beneath the surface.
We might ask,
What was really driving the reaction?
What stories were we believing about ourselves or others?
What's the lesson hidden inside this discomfort?
This kind of reflection is how growth happens.
It's how we stop repeating cycles that no longer serves us.
When we don't reflect,
We recycle.
But when we do,
We can begin to evolve.
Wisdom also demands honesty,
Especially with ourselves.
It's not always easy.
It can be tempting to hold to old narratives,
To explain away our behavior,
Or to point finger outwards.
A real change starts with inner honesty.
Being honest might mean admitting that we were wrong,
Or recognizing that fear is shaping our choices more than we realize.
It could mean facing the discomfort and uncomfortable truth that were the common thread in patterns we wish would end.
But that honesty is powerful.
It's not about tearing ourselves down.
It's about opening the doors to deeper awareness.
And from awareness,
Transformation can come.
When we think about growth,
We can agree that growth isn't comfortable.
There are moments where it feels easier to look away,
Stay the same,
Or go back to what is familiar.
But every time we choose to stay with discomfort,
To learn from it,
To move through it,
We take another step towards wisdom.
That's what makes wisdom so much more than age.
It's not something that happens to us.
It's something we participate in.
We grow wiser every time we choose courage over avoidance.
Every time we let go of needing to be right and instead become willing to learn.
Every time we meet a challenge with curiosity instead of control.
It is not about how old we are.
It's about how awake we are to live the life we're living.
So maybe the most important reminder is this.
Wisdom doesn't just come from time.
It comes from how we live within time.
It grows in our presence and deepens through our reflection.
It is strengthened with our honesty and it expands every time we choose growth over comfort.
We can live many years and still be caught in the same cycles.
Or we can live intentionally choosing to learn,
To question,
To soften,
And to evolve.
The invitation isn't to wait for wisdom to arrive.
It's to grow into it day by day.
And that journey is always available to us.
Right here in the life we're already living.
Thank you for listening today.
Namaste
