Lesson #1

The first thing I know now I didn’t know then is:

I don’t know a thing.

You start life quite innocently and, as years go by, you suddenly build yourself up into this presomptuous helpless teenager. You are 15 and you think you own the world because you know History facts, are not a drama queen and approach relationships with the somwhat wise mindset.

Truth is: You are just a nice, full of good intentions person who know very little about life. Some people your age have lived twice more than you, usually due to harsh circumstances. Others, younger, have twice your IQ and emotional intelligence.

You’re just not that far ahead.

But you don’t know that yet.

It took me years to realise that the biggest wisdom lesson was humility. And in mentioning humility as an acquired thing you instantly defeat the point. Nevertheless, it needs to be talked about.

The way I’ve experienced humility is mainly through plot twists. You know, those times when  the “big dream” is coming around and you are so excited and impatient you’re jogging on the spot? Then the “big dream” falls through. No reasons needed, it just does.

This happened to me over and over again since I went to university. I made a plan, I even prayed about the plan, it felt right. And it didn’t work. So many times it started to gain some type of comical factor. As if I were a cartoon character running very fast towards an open door which then slams right in its face and makes everyone but the character laugh.

Apart from the difficulty of feeling every door closing right on me, I learnt something:

I couldn’t go about in life so sure of everything and my understanding of it.

I started to unveil one of the most important lessons of my life: Knowing that the world is too big, life is too deep, intricate and complicated to pretend that you’ve figured it out.

I guess that made coming to God trickier but also simpler. If I didn’t have all the answers and my assurance was a goner, then I had to talk to him about everything.

It also meant that I was losing all my safety nets feel-good theories. God became my only guarantee.

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. (Proverbs 9:9) 

The Bible says that the wise keep looking for wisdom and the fool never listens. And throughout the years, I learnt to stop and listen.

I learnt that I had to be wiser than yesterday and less foolish tomorrow.