The following story is a great illustration of a man who realizes the value of wisdom:

The Wise Woman's Stone
Anonymous

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."

The wise woman was fine with or without the stone. The man realized that he had received so much material gain, but he wanted more. He wanted what the wise woman had, a contentment not dependent on the comfort of security. How many of us, in our lives, settle for security when we should press on to obtain wisdom?