I told myself at the start of this new job that I’d make more time for blogging, and yet here I am absent as ever. It’s actually my goal to get on a set schedule for you guys eventually, but for now, I’ll be understanding and forgiving to my current situation and the fact that I’m still in need of some emotional and mental rest. As usual, I’m hoping to share some insight with you all that I’ve been learning through my own journey.
As I move forward from this past year of my life and all the heartache and hurt that it held, I’m moving forward with new knowledge. As Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.” I’ve made it through the test and am now entering into the lesson learned part of this chapter. As I’ve said, I have gained new knowledge on the subject and through the experience, but I’m learning that there’s more to it than just logic and knowledge.
It was just this past week I was starting to feel low again. We all have those moments and it’s okay to have them because it’s part of the healing process. In my moments of lowness, I felt weak and reached out to someone close to me. I listed out all that I had overcome this past year and as I sought validation, I asked them, “I am strong, right?” I was nearly certain that they were going to tell me exactly what I wanted to hear. That I am very strong for overcoming and making it through as I have. However, as most people who love us and want what’s best for us normally do, they answered with what I needed to hear.
“Yes, but strength alone is not enough.” That answer stopped me in my tracks and didn’t immediately lift my spirits as I had hoped. If simply being strong wasn’t enough, then what else was I missing? I had made it through the life experience and I was coming out the other end stronger than I was before, and with more logic and knowledge than I had before. But it’s true, that strength and knowledge that I had gained were not enough.
We can go through countless life experiences, and we can learn all sorts of things from those experiences, but if we do not take what we’ve learned and put it into action in our future steps and choices, it is but a waste. And that is where wisdom comes into play. You see, knowledge and strength are not enough without wisdom, and wisdom and knowledge are two different things. Wisdom is the practical use of knowledge. I can know things and learn things and still not use that knowledge. Logic isn’t the end-all; wisdom is. It’s why in the book of Proverbs in the Bible, we’re told to seek wisdom and hold onto it. Because wisdom is vital when it comes to moving forward, learning, and growing. It’s the ability to take knowledge and actually use it. Logic might help you gain knowledge, but it can’t help you choose to use it like wisdom does. Unfortunately, logic is made out to be the hero. We gain logic hoping that will be enough, because having logic looks good. It’s actually a matter of how we use that logic, rather than how much of it we have. A person can be logically smart, but also unpractically wise.
So what’s my point in sharing this with you?
I want you to remember that you are going to make it through the difficult life experiences that come your way. You’ll make it out the other end and you will get stronger. But brace yourself, because if you really do plan on moving forward and healing, you need to be ready to take what you’ve learned through that experience, and put it into practice in your next steps. This is especially important during the healing process as I have recently discovered.
I have learned a lot from this past year, however, I’ve made choices recently, despite what I knew, that was not wise and that ended up delaying my healing. And this is what was meant when I was told that my strength was simply not enough. In order to grow and heal, I have to start making different choices based on what I now know and have learned. I have to be wise.
The lessons that experiences teach us, will be repeated until we actually practice what we learn. Do you feel stuck? Do you feel like you are not moving forward or constantly getting dragged back to that low place? Take a step back and observe. Are you applying what you’ve learned?
You can rise up from anything. You can completely recreate yourself. Nothing is permanent and you’re not stuck. You have choices. You can think of new thoughts, create new habits, and learn new things. All that matters is that you decide today to not only be strong but be wise as you move forward.
My dear friends rise up and be strong, but also be wise. Because strength robed in wisdom is beautiful.
Sincerely,
Adrienne
