December 17th, 2024

The Wisdom of Knowing Nothing

Hey friends,

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

How often do we act like we’ve got it all figured out? We create these little bubbles of certainty, convincing ourselves we know what’s right, what’s best, what’s next. But Socrates reminds us that real wisdom isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about staying open to the possibility that we don’t.

For me, this has been a humbling lesson. There have been so many times in my life when I thought I had everything under control, only to be blindsided by something I didn’t see coming. And honestly? Those moments, while uncomfortable, have always been the ones that taught me the most.

When I think about the times I’ve grown the most, they weren’t when I felt certain—they were when I let myself admit, “I don’t know.”

Admitting you don’t know isn’t easy. It’s vulnerable. It feels like letting go of the illusion of control, and that can be scary. But it’s also freeing. Because when you admit you don’t know, you open yourself up to learn, to grow, to see the world in ways you never could if you were clinging to certainty.

For me, this looks like asking more questions instead of pretending I already have the answers. It looks like listening to understand, not just to respond. And it looks like being okay with the fact that life doesn’t always make sense—and that maybe it’s not supposed to.

Socrates wasn’t telling us to throw our hands up and stop trying to understand the world. He was inviting us to approach life with curiosity and humility, to see every experience as an opportunity to learn something new.

And you know what? The more I lean into this mindset, the more I realize how much there is to discover—not just about the world, but about myself, about others, about what it means to live fully and authentically.

So here’s my question for you: What’s something you’ve been holding onto as a certainty that maybe, just maybe, you could let go of? What’s something you’ve been hesitant to admit you don’t know?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s talk in the comments or send me a message—I want to know what “knowing nothing” looks like for you.

Thanks for being here with me today, for sharing this space to reflect, to learn, to grow. Here’s to the wisdom of not knowing, and to all the possibilities it opens up.

Until next time,
Marjoly 🌿