The Wisdom Blog

*** *** *** The seed for what is now known as the Next of Kin Registry (NOKR) was planted years ago when Mark Cerney’s childhood caretaker, MiMi passed away while Mark was on his honeymoon. MiMi was in a care center at the time, where Mark visited her every weekend. Most of the staff there knew him by name, but no one thought to call him when she died. Mark began to wonder; with all the great technology we have, surely there must be a way to prevent this tragedy for others. Mark says, “Everyone deserves dignity—the homeless, kids on the street—someone needs to be notified if they are injured or deceased.” *** *** ***

Wisdom is seen in people like Mark Cerney, who not only face life’s losses and adversities but who work with them and transform them into something quite special. This pattern of transformation is common enough to those who have been nominated to Wisdom Out, that I’ve come to understand that redemption of loss for a greater good must be part of the definition of wisdom. I also see a healthy dose of what we’ve come to know as emotional intelligence, a term coined by Daniel Goleman in 1995. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, moderate and use emotions in oneself and others to effectively navigate work and life. Wisdom and emotional intelligence are not one and the same. But it is hard to imagine a wise person without emotional intelligence. As Wisdom Maker Andy Reeves observes, “Wisdom is about being above the fray.”

So, I offer you this new definition of wisdom:
Wisdom is a way of thinking and being that merges rational thinking, emotional intelligence, intuition and experience to empower people to respond elegantly to important matters of life and redeem life defining loss in exchange for a greater good.

What are your thoughts? What are the redemptive stories in your life? Go ahead and add your two cents. Thanks much, Elle