| In the Bible, specifically Proverbs, there’s a lot of contrast between the wise woman and the foolish woman. I want to pause for a sec and take a peek at the meaning of “wise.” Wise: Having or showing 1. Experience, 2. Knowledge, and 3. Good judgment. Experience is a teacher – it teaches us what works and what doesn’t. Knowledge is the library we pull from. Good judgment is common sense, well thought out. BUT how on earth does one become wise? 1. Self-awareness (without the emotional weightiness!). Know thyself, define what you’re feeling or thinking, think about your thinking – KNOW what you need now and NEXT. 2. Awareness (and honesty) with others. It’s easier sometimes to know yourself than to know others. We don’t assume much about ourselves, because we know. But so often, we assume we know about others, and well, Wise Women never ASSUME … it makes an ass out of you and me! 3. The process is just as important as the result – Wise Women are joyful trekkers, seeing their goal before them as exciting, a privilege, and a blessing. They flip their I don’t wanna’s into the blessing that it is, whether it’s a health/weight loss pursuit, a job, or a huge project. Wise Women DO, they don’t dread! 4. Wise Women listen – to themselves, others, and they can “feel the room.” Wise Women are observant, take stock, evaluate, pay attention, and revel in nuance and tweaking to fit! 5. Wise Women use the Experience File. Your humanity is most likely showing – if you’ve ever made a mistake! That’s not the end of the world or a negative mark against you – it’s human! Problems tend to go away and not get put on repeat when we 1. Look for the lesson, 2. Apply the lesson, 3. File it in the Experience File in case AND ditch the accompanying drama. 6. Wise Women LAUGH! We can poke fun at ourselves (in an appropriate way – like Oops, I guess I discovered [fill in the blank]). Wise Women are able to look back with a sense of humor, not bitterness. 7. Wise Women seek their purpose. Your contribution to this world was crafted BEFORE you were born. Why are you here NOW instead of 100 years ago or 100 years from now? Wise Women demonstrate kindness. ALWAYS. The cashier, the stranger, the stray dog. How you treat others, especially those who can’t do anything for you, is a declaration to God that you 1. See the connection, and 2. Appreciate it as well. We all struggle; we’re all on this big planet doing the best we can. So if we choose wisdom’s path by being PRESENT, AWARE, changing things that need to be and can be changed, and having peace for the stuff that can’t be changed, we can revel in our Wise Womanliness and become the very best versions of ourselves! |
