Happiness is Wisdom

From our individual and collective wisdom, our happiness grows. One thing I’ve realized is that the wisdom I’ve accumulated from my life experience has become my guide to what makes me the happiest.

In NORA ROBERTS LAND, my heroine, Meredith Hale, has two sources of wisdom since she doesn’t trust her own instincts anymore after her divorce. Both aren’t always appreciated. Her alter ego, Divorcee Woman, who starts talking to her, is always making recommendations to her under the guide of what I’ll call wicked wisdom. I like to think of Divorcee Woman as the good angel on Meredith’s shoulder, rather like we used to see in old cartoons. She’s always suggesting Meredith get together with the hero, Tanner, and to stop resisting him because, heck, the guy’s her soulmate. The other is her grandpa, the totally lovable, Arthur Hale. He’s lived a full life and has a good perspective on people and life from being a journalist. And he’s the one to point out when Meredith’s not acting from a place of wisdom, what he’d call her crazy place. Okay, and I’m hearing that I’d better mention Meredith’s sister, Jill, as a source, or I’m going to get into trouble. While younger than Meredith, Jill does have “some” wisdom to offer her.

What is it about wisdom anyway? To me, it’s like wisdom is the shortcut to happiness. When we listen and follow it, our life goes a lot better. It’s when we buck against it when we get into trouble.

This isn’t to say that we should break out of a collective wisdom that doesn’t serve us. I’m thinking the airplane would never have been invented if the Wright brothers had listened to people saying it had never been done, so couldn’t be done. Who doesn’t like the challenge of the impossible?

We all have to follow our inner compass, and like Meredith finds, Divorcee Woman and her grandpa pretty much give her some words of wisdom until she trusts her own compass again. They’re only telling her what she already knows about herself and life, deep down.

Sometimes we just forget. Or maybe we weren’t taught how to listen to ourselves.

Wisdom has this cloak of reverence around it. Sometimes, it deserves to be revered. The poet, Rumi, comes to mind in the way he strings together flowery phrases that tell us about living life from a higher place. But sometimes, wisdom is just common sense. Like don’t put a bunch of hair spray on and then go flambé some cherries jubilee. Trust me, this is not a good idea.

When our actions flow out of our wisdom, our happiness is great. We’re living our best life, the one we’ve always wanted to live.

So, what is the wisdom that you are acting from in your life? More importantly, is it serving you? If you’re not happy, then I’d bet the farm you’re not living from wisdom, but something else. And if you’re like Meredith and have forgotten what it feels like to know your own wisdom, do what she did, and look to the people you respect in your life who seem to be happy and have a happy life. What are they doing differently than you? What can they offer to you in the form of wisdom?

Don’t let the W-word put you off. You already know what it is. Even if you’ve forgotten for the moment.   

Image courtesy of Victor Habbick at FreeDigitalPhotos.net