The problem isn’t lack of knowledge; it’s lack of wisdom.
We have no problem finding knowledge.
We live in the AI Age & Information Age. We can Google anything or use ChatGPT for anything. We can search Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok, YouTube, and social media too. In a matter of seconds, we can know anything we want to know.
But so few of us know how to make sense of it all. Because to do that, we have to be able to disconnect, disengage, turn off, and step back. We have to spend long enough periods away from the digital to look at analog life objectively.
Unplugging isn’t easy. And neither is wisdom.
Let me give you a quick story to illustrate:
In 2023, I remember my kids shocked my wife and I by putting together a 500 piece puzzle. Two of them were still in grade school. I hadn’t seen them put together a puzzle since the 24 piece little toddler puzzles. And then they just did this 500 piece all at once!
Entering adulthood is a bit like this. We’ve done 24 piece puzzles, learned the subjects, passed each grade, and graduated. Then maybe we finished college, became adults, got married, and all of the sudden life throws a whole new dimension at us.
We have to grow up fast. The bills aren’t paying themselves. The trash needs taken out. The meal needs prepped. The floor needs swept. The laundry needs folded.
Basically, the chore isn’t getting done without us doing it. The paycheck isn’t appearing without us showing up to work.
That’s just the simple stuff.
Then you learn about mental health and emotional health, and how your spouse uncovers that she has a lot more baggage than you originally thought, and you realize you have a lot more baggage than you originally thought. Can I get an amen?
Then add a pet or a kid or a couple kids, and you’re trying to go from a 24 piece puzzle to a 1000 piece 3-D puzzle and asking yourself, “What the hell did I just get myself into?”
You’re getting into real life, my friend. And there, you’ll start to learn real wisdom too. It’s a wild ride!
Omer Redden 