We are certainly wise when we give up our fixed opinions and mindsets.

But I think that wisdom is when we begin to see poetry in everything.

When we see the beauty that exists behind the surface of everything we see.

Even that which we consider to be ugly.

When we try to do more than just describe what we see.

Even when words fail.

When I see the beauty of the little black dog,

Who came to sit beside me as I contemplate the ocean,

And listen to the melody that nature is playing.

We are wise when we begin to realize that everything is more than what we see.

Wisdom is when everything becomes a metaphor,

And we see the interconnectedness of all things.

Wisdom is when I see my life in the ocean,

As the tranquil ocean in the distance swells and becomes a wave which crashes into the shore and dissolves into foam.

Wisdom is when I see the water spouts of the whales

Coming up for air.

Reminding me that I need to breathe.

Wisdom is watching this little black dog lying next to me staring at the ocean with the same awe that I feel.

Is there a poem in that cactus growing out of the sand in front of me?

I think so.

Beautiful little flowers growing out of something that looks so forbidding filled with orange thorns.

Is there a poem in watching the kitchen workers prepare my meals every day and have my coffee ready for me in the morning?

I think so.

The waves are like my thoughts rising to a crescendo and crashing and dissolving in the foam.

Sometimes beautiful.

Sometimes doing great damage.

But always beautiful.

Wisdom is realizing that I am a child of nature,

Like the waves crashing against the shore,

Filled with power and beauty,

Being driven by an unseen force.

Pat Whitty is a certified health coach, workplace wellness consultant, MEA alum many times over, and Modern Elder Whisperer from San Antonio, TX