Small Wisdom
“To my extreme mortification I grow wiser every day” –Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
English letter author & poet (1689 - 1762)
Warning: What follows is a description of a tedious pet peeve—insignificant in every way except for how irritated I allow it to make me. I tell it to make a point.
Few things in daily life are as painful to me as being a passenger on an airplane during disembarkment, lets say anywhere back of row seven in the main cabin of a medium sized jet. I usually am in a window seat, which provides the positive effect of countering closterphobia during the flight (opening up the whole sky to me as it does, with just a turn of my head) but extracts a dear price when the plane lands. During disembarkment I am trapped, at the mercy of whatever number of people are in the seats next to me and in the rows ahead of me. Why can’t people get off an airplane in an efficient and timely manner? They have the entire flight to formulate a plan for getting off the plane when it lands. They do know they will eventually have to leave the plane, do they not? As a bonified frequent flyer, I can tell you that many passengers appear caught off guard when it is their turn to get off the plane. “What?” They seem to ask when those behind them in the aisle gesture that it is their turn to leave their seat. “You mean I need to get off the plane now?” Then and only then are paperbacks stuffed into pockets and purses, bags retrieved from under seats, suitcases lugged down from overhead containers, and coats shrugged into. Unbelievable! I want to yell out as I watch them, mindful of the ticking clock and the minutes between now and my connecting flight. I am not proud of any of this.
Wisdom is known to show itself during times of adversity. But sometimes adversity masquerades as the mundane irritations of daily life. These irritations may not present profound life changing opportunities, but they challenge us nevertheless. We certainly can behave quite foolishly in response to them, and this response can become a habit that robs joy from our day. Maybe these irritants come to us to give us the chance to flex and strengthen our wisdom muscles. Wisdom Maker Lisa Foley says, “Every small choice prepares you for the larger choices.” Lisa knows wisdom responds to the small trials in life with the same perspective it does to life’s larger challenges. She pays attention to these opportunities, recognizing them for what they are and responding to them as if it mattered—because it does.
A fellow frequent flyer once confided that although he loves his work, he despises the travel portion of his job. He used to let it get to him, to the point where he became physically ill at the thought of the travel ordeal that accompanied every business trip. Finally, exasperated with his complaining, this man’s wife told him “You have to love it all.” Now, that is practical wisdom for the 21st Century!
Where in your life do little trails and adversities appear, giving you a chance to flex your wisdom muscle? How do you respond? What have you learned from the small things, that help you respond to the larger losses and adversities in life?
