Wisdom

Friday, February 27, 2015

Today I am grateful for wisdom. I took one of those ridiculous Facebook quizzes that asks a bunch of inane questions so you can find out what your name should be, what career you should have, or how rich you should be. I should be a very successful writer, with truck-loads of cash and be named Irene. I kind of like the name Irene. You can do a lot with that name. My favorite is, “I couldn’t open the gate so I-rened on the fence.” Ha-ha! It never gets old for me. Ha-ha some more! I write every day, so that is true. Still waiting on the cash. Good night, Irene!

One of the question in one of the quizzes was do you feel you get wiser as you age? Hmm. I really had to think about that one. I’ve aged so I’m a good person to ask. Yes, I’m wiser in some ways. Not so much in others. It got me to thinking about whether I felt my parents or grandparents were wise.

My grandparents were simple farmers and I think they started out pretty wise. My parents lived through The Great Depression, so that gave them a wisdom they didn’t even want. My baby boomer generation endured Vietnam and a billion senseless wars since. Does that make us wise or clueless? Now there’s a poser.

Am I wise? Wiser than I was, that’s for sure. I should be wise enough to not waste time on stupid quizzes. Maybe I’m wise because I did waste the time because I feel so much wiser now. As a younger person I worried constantly about absolutely everything. A friend once told me that if I didn’t have something to worry about I would create something because that was where my comfort zone was. Worry! I don’t do that anymore. Ever. Gave it up like meat in Lent. And I lost about 200 pounds of anxiety when I did. All of that worry didn’t change a thing and it was exhausting. That’s wisdom, I guess. It’s nice to know you can still get a clue. . . even if you’re still confused. That’s wisdom, too, I guess. Or insanity. You judge, because I am now too wise to judge anyone or anything anymore in anyway.

Am I wiser? Maybe I am. As I age I know with certainty what is really important and it doesn’t have anything to do with how much I weigh, or how tall I am, or how smart I am, or how much money I have or don’t have, or how much I can travel, or how much I love being at home, or how much I love being out. And I’m pretty sure I didn’t need a silly Facebook quiz to tell me all of that.

If wisdom comes with age. . .and leads to contentment, not complacence. . .and a peaceful, oddly happy feeling, then I am wise beyond my years. . .and greatest expectations. I hope you feel that way, too. Let’s be wise together!