By Trish Briggs
Traditionally, to have wisdom meant you were wise. It was understood that wisdom came from the application of knowledge over time; so, we looked to our elderly for wisdom because they had the maturity that goes hand in hand with wisdom. They had experienced life, were grounded in who they were, and became our wise teachers.
From wisdom, the term ‘old soul’ evolved when young adults were embodying the wisdom of our elderly, and then some more. They were not old in physical years, but to accept this shift, our linear brains had to place the ‘knowledge to wisdom process’ somewhere; so, we placed it on the soul and said the person had an ‘old soul.’
This is the generation that I was part of and as a result I always associated the term ‘old soul’ with the definition “Wise beyond their years.” However, there is more to this definition then is first apparent. This new term, ‘old soul’ acknowledges the presence of a soul, a part of you that is more than your physical body, a part of you that exists after the physical body is gone, and a part of you connected to the collective. (My grandmother talked about God, but never about our souls.)
You don’t have to believe in reincarnation to credit yourself as having a soul. The presence of a soul acknowledges that there is something out there greater than you and you are connected to it. Your soul can tap into this greater source for deeper level of wisdom and understanding. An old soul feels a deep connectionto everything: God/Source, spirit, universe, nature, people in their lives and strangers.
Understandably, ‘old soul’ definition has evolved and today means more than ‘wise beyond their years.’ The best definition that I found was from Laura Williams (Inner Growth Center). She says, “An old soul is someone who recognizes the inner journey that spans beyond the present, carrying echoes of the past experiences or lives, shaping their understanding and approach to the current world.” It is a person who is all about the inner journey of growth and his/her /their relationship with self and spirit.
I encourage you to explore this topic online. There you will find character traits of an old soul and the difficulties an old soul has managing and being accepted in our physical world today. Both match our definition of intuitive children in the now.
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