This episode begins with a dream in which Michael Meade is singing and teaching an African song that implores people to become elders for the sake of their troubled community. Michael sings that song and then takes up the notion that we are all in a collective initiation, part of the point of which is to awaken the inner sage and hidden wisdom in people of all ages.

He makes the point that wisdom has to be specific to the lives and conditions of people. General wisdom is not that useful as something that is wise is one situation is unwise in another. The lack of wisdom seems to be demonstrated by recent government proposals that reduce a safety net already struggling to hold children and old people as well as those dealing with disability and caught in the traps of poverty. When people already feel anxious and fearful, it is truly unwise to remove cultural supports.

Michael concludes with the story of a wise old rabbi who on his deathbed gives sage advice and crucial wisdom to his students, the kind of wisdom we all need to learn in a world that is so troubled by sorrow and loss, by trouble and tragedy.

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