The Measure of a Life

Dear Reader,

This morning I came across two quotations. One from an 11th-century philosopher and another from a 17th-century thinker. Together they left me with a simple question:

What is wisdom?

I have never considered myself a particularly wise man. I have spent much of my life making mistakes, beginning again, and learning that the lessons I most needed were often the ones I least wanted to hear.

Yet perhaps wisdom was never intended to be measured by the amount of knowledge we possess, but by the manner in which we live.

Solomon ibn Gabirol wrote:

"In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth teaching others."

Those five steps seem simple enough, yet I wonder how often I rush past the first one.

Silence.

In recovery, we learn to sit quietly. In prayer, we learn to listen. In gratitude, we learn to remember. In service, we learn to practice what has been given to us. And if we are fortunate, we may one day teach another soul—not as experts, but as fellow travelers.

John Locke wrote:

"Our business here is not to know all things, but those which concern our conduct."

As I reflected upon these two quotations, another thought came to mind:

"Sit quietly. Listen carefully. Remember gratefully. Practice faithfully. Teach humbly. For in the end, we are not judged by all we have known, but by how well we have lived."

I later discovered those words were my own, written in an email and long forgotten.

Perhaps that should not surprise me.

After all, our lives are often a collection of borrowed wisdom, hard-earned experience, and moments of grace that somehow find their way onto paper.

For me, this simple reflection has become a six-step reminder for living:

• Sit quietly.
• Listen carefully.
• Remember gratefully.
• Practice faithfully.
• Teach humbly.
• Live well.

Perhaps that is the true measure of a life.

Not how much we knew.

Not how many books we read.

Not how many opinions we held.

But whether we became more patient, more compassionate, more forgiving, and more willing to love.

James reminds us to be "doers of the word, and not hearers only." Matthew teaches that we are judged by how we treat "the least of these." The Book of Mormon repeatedly invites us to become disciples of Christ through our actions rather than our intentions.

Wisdom, then, is not merely knowledge.

It is transformed living.

I am still learning.

Perhaps we all are.

Wise people rarely announce that they are wise. They simply keep showing up, one day at a time, continuing to learn until the end.

Until next time,

🙏🏻🧘‍♂️💕🤗☮️