The Wisdom We Pass On: Remembering the Ancient Ways of Learning

The Wisdom of the Wild

Last week I had The Secrets of the Elephants and The Secrets of the Whales playing in the background while cooking and playing with Phoebe. I wasn’t really planning to watch them - I just wanted something easy on while we pottered around (I haven’t succumbed to children’s TV yet!). But I found myself completely enthralled. Phoebe, not so much.

The footage was breathtaking. But what really struck me was what both species had in common: they live in close-knit family groups led by a wise matriarch.

Lessons from the Matriarchs

These matriarchs devote their lives to teaching. They pass down the knowledge and instincts that have kept their families alive for generations; how to find food and water, how to navigate storms, how to stay safe. Every skill, every piece of wisdom, is a gift inherited from the mothers and grandmothers before them.

Watching, Learning, Becoming

And I couldn’t help but think of Phoebe. She watches everything I do. She studies me, mimics me, learns from me, right down to the enthusiastic “yummy” noises when she eats (though, in her case, it’s whenever anything goes in her mouth).

This is how children learn. Just like baby elephants and orcas. They watch, they absorb, they imitate. It’s instinctive, wisdom through observation and presence.

The Way We Used to Learn

It made me wonder how our ancestors lived before formal education existed. Back then, wisdom was passed down, too. Grandmothers and mothers shared recipes, remedies, rituals. They understood the land, the moon, the stars. They lived in rhythm with the earth and with themselves.

What School Didn’t Teach Me

I learned plenty from school and university, but not the things that truly changed me.
I didn’t learn how to calm my nervous system.
I didn’t learn how to process emotions or set healthy boundaries.
I didn’t learn that my beliefs shape my reality, or how to trust my intuition.

Those lessons came later, from wise women, healers, coaches, authors. From women like you.

The Ripple of Wisdom

If I hadn’t met those teachers, I’d be a very different person today - and a very different mother. Because of what I’ve learned from them, I get to experience motherhood in a whole new way. I approach challenges differently. I speak to myself more kindly. I understand my emotions and trust my intuition more deeply. And because of that, Phoebe is having a different kind of childhood. The way she grows up, the woman she becomes one day - all of it will be shaped by the wisdom I’ve received. And in time, she’ll pass that on too, to her children, and they to theirs. That’s how healing and wisdom travel through generations.

Elephants and orcas have survived for millennia because of their shared wisdom. Humans, though, have started to value academic achievement and technology over ancestral knowledge, forgetting the power of stories, intuition, and embodied experience.

It’s time to change that.

Reclaiming the Role of the Wise Woman

We are the matriarchs now. We are the keepers of wisdom - the teachers, healers, and guides. And our voices, our stories, and our lessons matter.

Staying silent or hidden helps no one.
The next generation is watching.
And they will learn from how we live, lead, and love.

You Are the Matriarch Now

And this is why your work matters so deeply. The wisdom you carry - your lived experiences, lessons, healing, and insight - are not just for you. They are meant to be shared.

Every time you speak your truth, write a post, work with a client, or create something from your heart, you’re passing on wisdom that could change someone’s path.

Just like the matriarch leads her family, you are guiding those who come after you. So don’t hide your magic. The world needs the wisdom only you can share.