Wisdom Shadows

We live in a world in which knowledge and understanding are more sacred than trust and faith. The concrete is revered; the mystical is ignored, or at best - tolerated. Knowledge, facts (true, false or otherwise); the scientific, the provable. It is the hallmark of our times. And with that, comes the pressure, the need, the absolute demand to know everything about all things.

It’s exhausting. And kind of sad, really. Perhaps it’s because I am entering a time in my life where shadows are all around. I see into the shadows of the past and future, and I’m coming to appreciate what they portend: the shadows of what I used to do in the professional world, shadows of parenting my daughters, the even older shadows of being a child and dancing through a childhood that was filled with innocence and love. And future shadows ushered in by this life-stage desire to look into the years ahead, winnowing what should remain, and discarding what no longer works, what no longer brings joy.

I’m learning that admitting I do not know - (so much I do not know!) is freeing. It gives me a fresh breath of Spirit. Admitting that “I don’t know” puts me in mind of the protagonist in Louise Penny’s Three Pines mystery series, Armand Gamache, the Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec. He is a man that is a bit larger than life; tough yet gentle, wise beyond his years, yet humble (yeah, I know, true fiction!). However, in each book, he expresses the foundation of wisdom, as he’s come to understand it; 4 sentences that some up what is true and sure: “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I don’t know. I need help.” [1] In the end, this is all we probably really need to know.

It is the truly wise who appreciate the not knowing, the freedom of not needing to explain it all, not straining to understand, not seeking always to know. It is also those who appreciate the sacred things in this world that acknowledge, freely and with joy, that they do not know. Admitting I do not know removes me from the need to be right, the need to prove something, the need to exclude anyone or anything that doesn’t agree with what I think I know.

For in the end, we really do not know. And that is perfectly all right. It is good.

I end this blog with poetry, a joy of expression from my teenage years that I walked away from - I don’t know why, I just did. I’m returning to it now, and it is good. Good indeed.

Wisdom Shadows

I see the places where shadows exist.
In seeking wisdom,
I do not need to know anything.
To know whatever is true-
It is not necessary.
To see the shadow is enough.
A fool seeks to understand all
But the wise? She understands there is never real knowing.
I can only see the shadow of what is,
The shadow outlining truth -
It is probably more than enough.
For who am I to know all truth?
I could not bear it.
I don’t know.
That is wisdom enough for me.

[1] Louis Penny, author of the Inspector Gamache Three Pines mystery novels. You can find out more about Inspector Gamache at www.louisepenny.com