The Wise Woman

By: Aelwyn

We equate wisdom with age—experience. There is something slippery about this. A woman’s wisdom can arise at any age. We slip into and out of it in moments of grace—listening to a deeper, Sovereign voice within us.

We all, men, women, children of all ages, have the ability to be wise.  Who has not held a newborn and seen the wisdom of a knowing soul reflected back to them?  I like the definition of “wise” as a verb: to be alert or aware of something. This, I think, is the key to being wise. I often marvel at the wisdom of my young daughter. She is alert to her own boundaries, needs, cares. She is wise about herself. Can I raise her with a continued honoring of that awareness? Can I protect her as a young woman from a world that would like to crush that wisdom? And if I don’t or can’t, can she at least use those experiences to grow more wise?

The Elder, the true wise woman with some years under her belt has discerned a few things. She has gathered the days and months of her life like flowers and herbs in her garden basket. She has handled and treasured each one so that she knows those moments in all their details and she knows what medicine they bring. Not only does the woman savor and hold that medicine, but she knows just when to share it with others, so that they are strengthened or challenged to draw out their own wisdom.

Which leads me to ask: For whom do we grow wise? Is it just the flowering of our soul through life? A part of our journey? I don’t think it is only this. We do it for others, for a purpose beyond ourselves. We seek our wisdom as a way to protect and guide those around us. This is what makes the wise woman a healer. She drops wisdom into the teary cups of her friends and family—her loved ones, her tribe. She guides them gently through their own experiences and lovingly nurtures those around her. She is a treasure to them, if they are on their own path of seeking wisdom. And so, the cycle continues…