Age & Wisdom

4-minute read — by Stephen BE, M.A., D.Div.

“I’d like to be 25 years old again, but only if I could know then what I know now.”

This is how most people answer the question, “What age would you like to be if it were possible?” With this society’s overpowering emphasis on youth, it is imperative that we reflect on the truth of these messages if we are to find our true selves later in life.

At twenty-five, most of us feel vibrant, healthy, energetic, vital, sexy, free, independent, immortal, and excited about life’s infinite possibilities. However, most twenty-five-year olds have no clue about the purpose of life. There is little or no direction to their efforts. They fumble and fail in their youthful delusions about what is important and what is not, regardless of their level of intelligence.

Twenty-five-year-olds often believe they should be rewarded for “all their accomplishments,” and then feel disappointed when others do not comply. They believe they know most of what there is to know. They have little to no appreciation for what they have yet to realize. They cannot have depth to their understanding without the myriad experiences that will come later. They cannot yet know the true humility that comes only from regret, disappointment, and loss. Twenty-five is mostly a wonderful time in life; it displays the epitome of “Ignorance is bliss.”

There is another saying, “Youth is wasted on the young,” as though young people do not recognize how sweet this time is in life. Only people who feel the consequences of aging can resent the ignorance of youth. But lamenting the loss of youth indicates a potentially greater problem: a lack of appreciation for the clarity that emerges with age. It may be more accurate to say, “Age is wasted on the elders.”

Life is an evolution from the vitality and bliss of youth to the profound wisdom of the aged. Like youth should be appreciated by the young, wisdom needs to be appreciated by the aged. There is an inverse relationship between youth and wisdom that must be embraced if one is to find fulfillment in life. All adults need to learn how to work with what they have at every age. It is not a given that anyone who ages is wise. Some people just get old. Age brings about a sense of failure, loss, regret, futility, and doom for those who do not learn how to be wise.

Wisdom must be gathered and claimed in order to be recognized. When an elder succeeds in gathering and claiming their wisdom, they exude a sense of purpose and personal power that is envied by the young. Just as the elders wish they could have youth along with their wisdom, the young wish they could have wisdom without having to sacrifice their youth.

This spectrum of age, the transition from youth to wisdom, is the natural evolution of life. Is it better to be young and ignorant or aged and wise? What would you say? There are skills to be learned in every age, and when they are integrated into your life every age has its benefits. Since wisdom only comes with age, those with the skills to be truthful will always choose wisdom over youth.