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.

“Wisdom” has not been a concept that has been used for the ageing woman, holed up in suburbia, who has spent her life in caring roles and domestic labour. For thousands of years since the Greek philosophers first threw on a toga and wondered about the world, wisdom has been seen, historically, as something that looks like Gandalf and Plato, Aristotle and Gandhi – all who have wandered........

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