Wiser Society for 2012

Background

In 2010 I initiated the Wise Society to begin a conversation around the idea of wisdom in our society. At the time I had a feeling that the issue needed to be more fully understood; I wanted to start a conversation. Throughout 2011, an international group of LinkedIn supporters posted, read and commented on aspects of a Wise society; a small group of us who were either enthusiastic and curious met face to face in Auckland to talk about it. At the end of 2011 my thoughts had consolidated and I wanted to record these thoughts and refocus my thinking for 2012.

The beginning of the movement – who are we?

The original idea of the group was to maximise the positive effects of an ageing society by harnessing more wisdom from elders. It seemed to me that the ageing population debate was almost exclusively negative and that society was about to be inundated by more and more people over 65.  My research into brain function told me that this need not be negative; on the contrary, the additional wisdom from ‘elders’ could be used to create a wiser society rather than a more demented one. The challenge was to start creating this reality before it became late.

Why we changed the name from Wise to wiser society

We all began to realise that the name ‘Wise’ society led us to try and agree on a definition of what a ‘wise’ society would look like. I now believe that whatever that definition of ‘wise’ is, we need our society be wiser than it is now; to do this, we need a different way of organising ourselves. We had some good debates about what constitutes a wise society at the start, but none of us had developed enough wisdom to be able to answer the question!

Meetings were free flow during the first part of 2010. Many were attracted to the group because they were interested in the ageing population and others because they were passionate about creating their personal view of a wiser society. Discussions ranged from people sharing their experiences of ageism to finding a solution for World hunger. Both of these are areas of valid concern, but it took about a year before we began to realise that the issue was not to define the end state but work towards it through worthwhile projects. At that point I changed the name from Wise Society to Wiser Society.

We became more project oriented

A turning point came in mid 2011 when we developed and presented a paper to the new Auckland council suggesting ways to best support the development of wisdom in the community. After that we turned our attention to a key aspect of development in communities and organisation – intergenerational working. There are many other projects that will no doubt emerge in 2012. Each one will impact in a small way, if only to raise awareness and understanding.

Discovering wisdom versus developing wiser people

Different people have different dreams about what constitutes a wise society. There are many other groups set up to focus on aspects this; World peace, preventing World hunger, creating more tolerance of diversity and even simply encouraging sustainable living. Who is to judge any of these as the ‘right’ answer? All are worthy and we should not waste time debating which is more worthy of the definition ‘Wise’.

There is certainly a need for more public awareness of the challenges we face ahead including impacts of the aging population.

However, a wiser society is full of people who separately and together want to work towards becoming wiser – making considered and better choices. Perhaps our emphasis should be on helping create more wisdom and then people themselves would create the wiser society we dream about?

The aging population

In the meantime, the ageing situation has started to impact us all. Some have a dream about a future where the aged population is treated fairly and with respect; my dream is of a society where there is an expectation for elders to help define and create whatever it is that constitutes that wisdom. More than that, it would be inspired by a group of elders who have a keen sense of responsibility and altruism to take part in this transformation rather than ‘retire’ from life. These people will donate their years of experience an understanding to develop the future in partnership with younger generations.

Wisdom will change society but we need more people with wisdom who are prepared to role model the ‘right’ behaviours. People with wisdom create a wiser society; institutions with wisdom also need to find and role model new patterns of behaviour. How can people over 65 become respected elders and contribute to society through their wisdom?

What is wisdom?

There are many types of wisdom, but there is a general agreement that wisdom cannot be earned through courses or qualifications; it comes with experience and after much feedback and reflection. It is built on knowledge but it is also intuitive, moral and useful in real situations. A definition for practical wisdom is ‘the ability to do the right thing in the situation for the right reasons’. Everyone is genetically programmed with an ability to develop wisdom but not everybody does. We need to harness those who already have wisdom and help others to develop it.

Our society needs more wisdom

Recent events in the economy and in business have convinced us all that there is a need for change. Movements all over the world are rejecting our existing way of acting in society. I would like to be part of the rebuilding of our society rather than be a protester; I believe that creating more awareness of wisdom is at the heart of this.

The challenge ahead for 2012

Here is my 2012 list of aspirations for creating a wiser society:

• Give individuals a framework for developing wisdom
• Create role models of older, wiser people
• Create new roles in business and in the community for elders
• Assist 50+ people to transition into a new role with enthusiasm
• Set up systems to integrate wisdom into everyday life situations
• Encourage and explore effective intergenerational working
• Discover how institutions can create wise cultures without dissipating creativity and without everyone having to be wise
• Start conversations that will inspire people to aspire to contributing personally to a wiser society

My two catch cries for 2012 are:

 ‘Everyone should become wiser with age’

 ‘Elders have a responsibility to create a wiser society with  future generations.’

Final acknowledgement

I should like to thank all those who have contributed to this group during 2011. Whether you posted stories, commented, attended the meetings or just read the various items on our LinkedIn site – you have become part of the change to a wiser society. I have learned a great deal from your views and thoughts and I have constantly been forced to reframe my own thinking during 2011. I hope that you have also found the discussions useful. I look forward to engaging with you all in 2012 and am sure that together we will move towards a wiser society whatever that is!

Janis Grummitt  January 2012