Perhaps indeed, ERiC....
But it seems to me that there are at least two kinds of wisdom, according
to your definition (that which 'helps one to live a life'). There seems to
be wisdom that can be communicated, such as 'take one step at a time',
'don't panic', 'time will heal almost anything', 'this too will pass' etc.
And there seems to be another, which our language isn't fit to describe in
simple terms. It might involve some kind of spiritual enlightment (the
classical use of 'silence' as described by the first quotes mentioned in
this thread), or a major intellectual or emotional insight. Perhaps the
latter can be described with a story, a metaphor, a poem, or some orther
artistic form of expression. Or perhaps it can only be learned through
experience, after numerous years in life's School of Hard Knocks. But
whatever wisdom is, it seems to be part of the private realm -- unlike
knowledge, which is public, wisdom is not usually put on the table to have
its veracity examined by groups of people.
What amazes me the most about wisdom is that here we are, talking about it
and pretty much agreeing. But we may all have different takes on it.
lena