The Greatest Gift Of All, Wisdom

​I was standing with Ian yesterday morning wishing him a happy 16th birthday. I asked him, because you know 16 is a BIG one, do you feel any different?

Ian said, "no, it feels a lot like 15 felt." To which I told him, or maybe advised him, "just give it a few decades, birthdays will feel different."

I barely remember being 16. But I know this about that birthday, no part of me was looking forward to turning sixty. In fact, in spite of being surrounded by sixty-somethings and older in my life, I'm pretty sure I denied that sixty was even something teens could catch.

But here I am. Sixty. Teens indeed can catch it.

As I walked away from Ian, I had to ponder, would I trade sixty for 16?

The answer came to me surprisingly quick. No way!

For me it boils down to a couple of simple questions:

Would I trade the wisdom I have today for the physical attributes I had back then. And, would I trade the years I've had for the possibility of years to come?

I guess those questions are why the answer came so quickly and emphatically. Because I value nothing more today than wisdom, and wisdom could not have been gained without all the years and experiences between 16 and sixty.

It is a double edged sword, time. Youth holds the gift of unawareness, free from the weight of knowing all that life demands, while age brings the treasure of wisdom and a sense of capability hard-won through all of those very demands.

For me, none of the physical attributes of my youth turned out to be much good to me. Not that I'm not thankful for them, but they didn't protect me from a lot of destruction.

Wisdom would have.

But then I have to wonder, would I have that wisdom to protect me from destruction if not for destruction? Would I trade away the destruction to be without the depths of my wisdom?

No.

I would not.

So, I do hope my 16 year old gets to see sixty. Not to prove that it exists, but mainly so he will have the chance to know about life things he never dreamt of knowing.

There is a gift in not having to know, for sure, but for me it will never compare to the gift of knowing.

But for now, soak up 16 little buddy. Wisdom will arrive soon enough 😊.