‘Wisdom’ has not been a concept used for the ageing woman – it’s time this changed | Jacinta Parsons

There is wisdom gained through the years of being a human that offers insight and deep understanding. Why are women so reluctant to claim it as their own?

Wisdom has oft been thought as a phenomenon that might only be found at the peak of a mountain, held in the fingertips of an older man who has taken himself away from the pesky happenings of the world below so as to contemplate the existence of truth. And then perhaps share that understanding with a book tour and motivational speaking encounter.

One of my favourite stories about those who remove themselves from the world to live in caves to reach heightened states of wisdom and transcendence was the story of a monk who had spent a year in an isolated holding, on a mountain, without contact with the world. After that year of silence and contemplation, he reached a transcendent state and so found his way back down the mountain to live among the villagers below. He said it took only an hour before he felt enormous irritation arise - humans, it turns out, were quite annoying. He walked back up the mountain. I'm not sure how that story ended but maybe he never came back down.