knowing it

   An old farmer once said to me, the more you know, the less you think you know. It's a bit of wisdom that I haven't forgotten. There is always something new to learn about any particular subject no matter how educated you feel you may be. The issuing of a sheepskin, a degree is supposed to be the proof of your knowledge in a particular field. The coveted PhD being the final exam. Still, they don't know it all as new knowledge comes to light. Your best hope is to live long enough to become an expert on the past. A rather ironic thing if you really think about that. And stranger still is the fact that even then, you will not know everything about that past, there was something you just didn't know. 

  The only absolutes in the world are the things that everyone agrees upon, and you know what, not everyone will agree with that. Consider our own mortality, everyone agrees that eventually the body ceases to function, it goes into a state we call death. Is that an absolute? Yes, but not everyone agrees that they will be dead. I myself am not convinced of that. My biggest question being, will I know it? And upon further thought about that, if I do know, how long will I know? I've always thought it would be great if just before my passing I had the opportunity to say something profound or at least funny. You know, like you see in the movies. I'm taking my last breaths, reassuring and comforting those around me while I say something. Hey, it could happen.

  I'm thinking the question to be answered is really, how much do we need to know? Nobody likes a know it all. We all say that mockingly with the realization that no one knows it all while we scramble for our "proofs" of just how smart we are, how much we know. There is an old story I was told when I was a child. In the town were I grew up there was a man that was, how do I say it, just not that bright. What we would say today an "Intellectual Disability." There came a day when  a bunch of juveniles, juveniles being juveniles, began to mercilessly tease him. They called him names like dumbo and idiot. An adult intervened and scolded those kids, sending them home with the threat of telling their parents. This person then asked the man if he was alright. He assured the person he was just fine. The other person said to him, I'm sorry those kids were teasing you. His reply was, "I've got all the sense the lord saw fit to give me." 

  With that sentence he spoke more truth than many a highly educated man ever uttered. He knew. That was all he needed to know as well as he went about living his life. He lived in a two story home that was only whitewashed on the ground floor. When asked about that he simply replied, I don't own a ladder. Questioned further he didn't want to assume the responsibility of using someone else's ladder, he couldn't replace it if anything happened to it. He knew enough not to ask was the response from him. By all accounts he did know all he needed to know. He wasn't a burden to anyone, didn't bother others, and just went about living his life. Was he happy? Only he knows that. 

 So just how much do you need to know? How can we quantify that? In the middles ages the practice of recording your credentials on a sheepskin, for portability and durability, was a common practice. There are some universities that still do that. Doctors and Lawyers are licensed to practice. That's a fitting thing as hopefully the continue to practice and learn their respective crafts. Funny you don't hear about practicing plumbers, mechanics or carpenters though. I'm practicing to become a philosopher. My philosophy being, it's not how much you know, it's knowing how to apply what you do know. Had a neighbor that once said, knowing it is knowing it, doing it is doing it. They aren't always the same thing. 

                                                                                           

 I know where my clothes are, but I didn't put them on.