I think with experience and age, you gain knowledge and wisdom.

In the simple yet profound words of Nick Foles, the athlete whose humility matches his heroism, we find a truth as old as time: “I think with experience and age, you gain knowledge and wisdom.” Though spoken by a man of the modern age, these words echo the eternal cadence of the ancients — the recognition that life itself is the great teacher, and that wisdom is not bestowed in youth, but earned through trial, patience, and reflection. Foles speaks not merely of the passage of years, but of the deep alchemy of experience, through which the raw material of hardship is transformed into the gold of understanding. His words remind us that to live long is not enough — one must live consciously, learning from each joy and sorrow alike.

To understand the origin of this truth, one must look not only to Foles’s life, but to the universal path of human growth. Nick Foles, a quarterback known for leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a miraculous Super Bowl victory in 2018, had lived through seasons of triumph and obscurity alike. His journey was marked by failure, injury, and doubt — moments that would have broken a lesser spirit. Yet it was precisely through those storms that he gained perspective. He learned that victory means little without humility, and that defeat, when met with faith, can teach more than success ever could. It was in the crucible of these experiences that Foles discovered the ancient truth that wisdom is born from experience, and experience is forged in struggle.

For centuries, philosophers and poets have spoken of this same law. The sage Confucius taught that there are three paths to wisdom: reflection, imitation, and experience — of which experience is the most bitter, yet the most profound. The Greek thinker Heraclitus declared that “character is destiny,” meaning that life’s trials reveal the inner strength of the soul. In every culture, from the elders of the desert tribes to the scholars of the East, it has been understood that knowledge may fill the mind, but only experience fills the heart. The youth may learn the words of wisdom, but only the elder understands their weight.

Consider the story of King David, the shepherd boy who became Israel’s greatest ruler. As a youth, he was brave, talented, and faithful — yet impulsive and flawed. His early victories brought pride, his sins brought sorrow, and his losses brought humility. It was not until his later years, after exile, betrayal, and heartbreak, that David spoke with the depth of one who had truly lived. The psalms that poured from his heart were not the boastings of a warrior, but the prayers of a man who had tasted both the sweetness and bitterness of life. Through age and experience, he had gained what Foles calls knowledge and wisdom — the understanding that strength lies not in conquest, but in compassion; not in the crown, but in the conscience.

In Foles’s statement lies a dual truth — that knowledge and wisdom are not the same. Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, the sharpening of the mind; wisdom is the understanding of meaning, the opening of the soul. The young may study the laws of the world, but the wise discern the laws of the heart. Experience is the bridge between the two, teaching us that every pain has purpose, every failure a lesson, and every season its appointed time. To gain wisdom, one must not flee from life’s tests, but embrace them — for each trial is a teacher in disguise.

The meaning of Foles’s reflection, then, is not limited to the field of sport. It is the rhythm of life itself. Time is the silent sculptor that carves the rough edges from the human spirit. Youth is fire — full of energy, but untempered. Age is light — steady, calm, illuminating the path for others. The years teach us what the days cannot: that patience is stronger than haste, that listening is wiser than speaking, and that humility is greater than pride. When Foles speaks of gaining knowledge and wisdom through experience, he is speaking to every soul who has stumbled, risen, and learned to see the hand of grace even in the darkest hour.

The lesson we draw is both gentle and commanding: do not rush the unfolding of wisdom. The fruit of understanding ripens only with time. Each experience — whether victory or defeat — is a seed that will one day bloom if tended with reflection. Therefore, welcome the seasons of your life as a farmer welcomes both rain and drought, knowing that each has its purpose. Reflect on your actions, forgive your missteps, and walk forward with an open heart. For wisdom is not a destination, but a pilgrimage — one that continues until the final breath.

So let the voice of Nick Foles be heard as an echo of timeless truth: youth gives energy, but age gives depth; experience gives knowledge, but reflection gives wisdom. Seek not to grow old quickly, but to grow deeply. Let your life be your teacher, your trials your tutors, your victories your reminders of gratitude. And when you look back upon your journey, may you see that the scars and triumphs alike were the instruments of your becoming — proof that through experience and age, the soul learns its highest art: the art of wisdom.