THE ONLY ANSWER THAT REALLY MATTERS

Broadcasting tower - “In an age in which the media broadcast countless pieces of foolishness, the educated man is defined not by what he knows, but by what he doesn't know.”

It's said that we begin to cut our wisdom teeth the moment we bite off more than we can chew. But do we ever feel as if we have enough wisdom? That we have arrived; that we are wise?

Jeff Hull writes about his great aunt, called Momma J. At 96, she was the last of her generation. As the family was gathered at her sister's funeral, a cousin remarked to Jeff that they were soon to be moving into the family's oldest generation. Jeff looked at his cousin and said plaintively, "But Mary, I don't feel like I know the answers yet."

After everyone had a good laugh, Mary turned to Momma J. and said, "When does that change, Momma?"

Momma J., from her wheelchair, smiled and said, "I don't know yet, dear."

Upon reflection, Jeff Hull asks this penetrating question: "How often do we let our own story about our limitations stop us from doing what we want to, what we are committed to, in life?" He is asking, "How often do we feel as if we have to know the answers before we can proceed, before we can follow our hearts, or before we can attempt something big?"

I like the wisdom of Sydney Harris. "Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time," he says, "It is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."

You and I do not have all the answers yet. Truth is, we never will. But if we wait for all the answers, we will never move forward.

For no regrets, the only answer that matters is...take that next step. With courage, follow your heart's desire. The path ahead may be dark and hazy, for we can never see far into the future. But it is always clear enough to take one more step. And it's the way to a full and happy life.

From Lifesupport.