As I gain years under my belt, this is what I am starting to know: That I do not know much at all.
Yes, I have learned how to live “better”, have gained knowledge about certain things. But really what I am realizing is that in fact, I know very little of what there is available to know.
It is strange, as a teenager, I remember feeling like I already knew it all. I would respond back with conviction (I often still do). But now, 20 years later, I feel more and more the proportion of what I know is much less. Not in the sense of a loss of confidence, but rather in the humbling realization that the there is so much to know, to learn, to experience beyond the realm of what I already know.
Does this mean I am de-gressing? That I have not used these years wisely? That I am going backwards? I’m not sure. Maybe it means that things are opening up.
I think what may be happening is that my view of the “pie” has changed: As an adolescent, I recall having a distinct range of “my world”. It was a world that had boundaries and it was smaller. As I age, I increasingly become aware that the world (in its conceptual state rather than its physical state) is big, cultures and traditions vary, people are complex, schools of thought are different and evolving (not one being more right than the other).
Take for example, western medicine vs. eastern medicine. Growing up, I never recall learning or talking about eastern medicine. Someone was sick, and the course of action was to go to the doctor and get medicine. I have recently begun to read more on eastern schools of thought and practices (Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Aryuveda practice). These two schools of thought suggest a very different approach developed over centuries – one based on being proactive about your health and nurturing your body’s daily rhythm. Is one better than the other? I don’t know. I do know, that both schools of thought have merit and are worth learning about and considering.
To some, admitting that “I know less” as I age, may seem like I am more limited than others that age and proclaim all that they know. But maybe it’s the opposite? Maybe knowing less and realizing that you know less than what you originally thought is knowledge in itself. Maybe this perspective can position us to be open to new possibilities, open to learning, open to new ideas. Open to what is to come.
Maybe the response: “I don’t know” is not such a bad one after all….
