Happy Sunday Everyone:
Week before last I went out for an early run. Sun was coming up, about 5:30. I’m walking out of my driveway into the cul-de-sac, and I see an object in the middle of the street. I honestly thought it might be a dead squirl that fell out of a tree and landed upright. Based on me explaining this thought to my team, I now understand how stupid my initial consideration was. As I got closer, I could see it was a baby owl. It was okay, I think it was learning to fly. I sat there for a few minutes and just looked at it, and it never took its eyes off of me (picture below). I mean how many people on this email can say they had a staring contest with an owl?
I took off after a few minutes and of course pondered my entire run “what the heck was the meaning of this?”. Was it a sign? Was there some message I should be considering? I’m sure you all know, Owls are considered to be wise, but a baby owl. How does it relate to me? I came to the conclusion that if there was meaning to it, or even if I want to create meaning out of a random act, it was this; part of being wise is understanding what I don’t know and being so okay with it that it catapults growth.
All of us experience different chapters in our lives, I for one am feeling like I’m starting a new one. Not sure if its age, job, kids getting close to the work force, or AI. It just feels like I’m heading into a new season, and that season can be scary as hell or exciting, depending on the lens I choose to see it through.
When I finished the run, I hopped on the laptop and looked up the definition of wise and various qualities of people that are considered wise. Here is what it said of wise people:
- Good judgement- makes thoughtful, sound decisions. Sees the long-term impact of choices.
- Perspective- Sees beyond the surface. Understands different viewpoints and the bigger picture.
- Experience based insight- Learns from personal and others experiences.
- Humility- acknowledges limitations. Listens and remains open to learning.
- Emotional Regulation- Remains calm and thoughtful in difficult situations.
- Empathy-Considers others feelings and needs. Balances self-interest with compassion.
- Moral Clarity-has a strong sense of right and wrong. Aligns actions with values.
When I think of me starting a new chapter in my life, and being aware of how much I don’t know, I think of #4, humility. When I think of how I’d like to live the remainder of my life overall I think of using all 7 of these qualities as the filter in how I measure myself and my actions. Up until this exercise, I thought of wise as something more obscure, like I know it’s good to be wise, and I know people who I’d consider to be wise, but what specifically is it about them? Now I know.
I’m far from wise, but that baby owl experience created this Sunday Thoughts for me and I’m better for it, maybe even wiser for it. Those 7 qualities will be printed, framed, and looked at daily. Whether I get closer to “wise” or not, using those 7 qualities as a guiding light in my own self-evaluation would serve me well.
Have a great rest of your Sunday!
