There are days when I wonder when wisdom will embed itself inside of me.

Then, I ponder what is wisdom, and how would I know its placement within me. Then my mental meanderings go to this question; what would I accomplish with it?

Suddenly, I’m reminded of a maxim I learned long ago: “When in doubt, do your research.”

However, before starting this philosophical journey, please allow me to enjoy a glass of Bogle Merlot. Within its leading flavors of red cherries and finishing tastes of comforting mocha and cedar, I’ll seek the answer to my wisdom questions. Well…hopefully at least the first step to answering my predicament.

And the answer is to start at the beginning.

I’ll begin with Socrates who is known as the Father of Western Philosophy. His basic tenants were that the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing, and that the unexamined life isn’t worth living. Therefore, there’s only one good and that is knowledge, and there only one evil and that’s ignorance. He also believed good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure.

Well, personally speaking, I fit into much of Socrates’ thoughts, and I should be very wise. Hmmm, I’m not touching that one! Basically, he’s telling us that wisdom is found in the moral self — meaning know that you need to live life fully to achieve wisdom and that will fulfill your moral self.

I like that teaching!

Does that mean wisdom comes with age? My response to that question is not necessarily, and I speak from personal experience! Again, we must reach out to the entire world around us and find knowledge. Aging is not a panacea.

In my travels in the world of wine, it’s been my pleasure to taste many aged wines. Granted, it depends on what type of container the wine is aged in (Meaning what types of wood casks) and the length of the aging process. What I’ve learned is that not all aged wines are good. My knowledge gained tells me it all depends on my taste preference, and that a good wine speaks to me. The price, wine growing region or brand name are all guides. In the final analysis, my preferences are based on any examinations of many wines.

Maybe Socrates would be proud of me for trying to find wisdom through the knowledge of wine. So in what other elements of life can we try to find wisdom? How about music?

We all know folks who think that all modern rock and roll music is full of devil worship. They are entitled to their opinion, but maybe some serious effort to gain knowledge of such music would lead us away from such negative thoughts. Music soothes the soul, and gives many folks peace and joy. I expect many of us have sat in a social setting with all types of music playing in the background. Yes, some of it is irritating and some of it is gratifying. We learned that, again, experience is good for us. Socrates was spot on!

Music can bind us together for the moral common good. If you haven’t listened to John Lennon’s song “Imagine” for awhile, it might be the thing to do. Imagine all the world living an examined life?

This evening play your favorite music as you sip a beautiful rosé. Wisdom could be a result of this moment.

Can one find wisdom in people? It seems we can and do everyday, don’t we? We socialize with our friends and family and examine their lives through their verbal messages. That is fairly easy. What’s more difficult is entering into a conversation with someone who has opposite viewpoints than yours. That’s when you will gain some wisdom as you examine what makes that other person who they are. Therein lies a sense of developing moral goodness.

I’ve found much wisdom during my journey within the world of wine. Walking through a vineyard takes me back to the farm fields of my past. There’s a comforting connection there. Talking with vintners has erased much of my ignorance of vinology. Sampling wine has increased my moral good because it has introduced me to all types of people.

Before starting this wine journey of mine, I knew nothing. Now, I know a little bit about wine. I guess that proves that if I can do it, there’s hope for everyone.

We are what we are willing to learn.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!