I'd say wisdom is an idea or phrase that holds meaning or truth over time.
We are in the middle of season 2 of Fargo, (yes, that's right, Fargo, we are binge-watching via Amazon, it's a freaking, kooky, joy-ride; a wild masterpiece, and a real pleasure to watch) and one of the characters said the following, and these words ring so true right now, but really, they probably ring true just about any time, (my definition of wisdom):
"We are out of balance. Don't know right from wrong. No moral center."
Couldn't those words be spoken in pretty much any era? Any time in human history? Yes. Probably. For sure and especially right now. But of course, we are always in the right now! Still it really smacks of deep wisdom.
Morality. Slipperier than you think. As Joan Didion once remarked, I'm paraphrasing from memory (basically making it up), "Once you get past the idea of burying your dead, morality gets all kind of fuzzy, and hazy. Ephemeral."
I suppose it comes down to "who decides?" Do you defer to a King, a Pope, a President, a Judge, a Cop, a Council of Elders, your Parents, your Friends, your Tribe? Often we are left to our own devices. And isn't it amazing how self-righteous people can be? What is good and right often turns out to be what is good and right for me!
