Even if I had all the wisdom in the universe, I’d still have to let people make their own mistakes.

Just as I share my experience here, scattering it out into the wind in the hopes that it helps someone, I find myself offering the lessons of my experience to the people I love, often unsolicited. And though I try to offer my guidance without caring if it’s accepted and followed, I still become aware that sometimes my help carries hidden expectations.

I want my gestures to be given freely and without strings, and separately, I want to be clear & open about the things I want, so that my help never bears a hidden cost… and so that I give you the most freedom to choose how you respond to my desires.

Bearing in mind my limitations, my human nature, I need to remind myself often that even if I had all the wisdom in the universe, I’d still have to let people make their own mistakes. Knowledge can be transmitted, facts can be recorded, but wisdom — of wisdom, we can only trace rough outlines, point in imprecise direction and hint at its mysteries, because only experience bears the fruit of wisdom.