March 29, 2024

Today’s prompt: What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)

Ah, but what if there have been no wise decisions?

I kept trying to think of something wise I could point to, something sage, something that would make me appear to be sitting on top of the mountain, or at least vaguely aware of where the trail starts to get to the top. Instead, I thought this: “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”

Someone wise said that. It’s the closest I can come to even defining what a wise choice is–just some happy vanity of the mind.

One person’s wisdom is another’s foolishness. Your own best decisions are probably also your worst. Life is risk, and nothing is so straight forward as to be purely wise.

If I put money in savings, I did not use it to pay off a debt. If I championed one person, I probably insulted another. If I took care of one responsibility, I probably neglected another.

How can you measure what is wise anyway when it is impossible to measure all possible outcomes from all possible choices? Once a decision has been made, the available choices and possible outcomes have been changed. It is impossible to know what might have been. It is impossible to guess what the best path might have been.

We can claim wisdom if we want to reassure ourselves, but it’s all still just vanity.

And all of that is just to say…I got nothin’. I hope other people have been a little wiser than that this year.

2 thoughts on “Wisdom (Reverb 10, Day 10)

  1. What’s vain about realizing that you did something right?

    Gosh, I err all the time. I admit it!

    Have you heard Einstein’s definition of insanity? He said it’s when you keep doing the same thing while expecting a different result!

    That was my wisdom for the year. I finally did one little thing different. It helped me a lot.

    Wise? I try, but I miss the mark all the time!

    This is my first trip to your blog. Nice to meet you. 🙂

    ~Tui

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