The Know-It-All and The Know-Nothing Dilemma

The man who thinks he knows everything walks blind. He holds his head high, sure his view is clear. When the storm comes, when war comes, he is caught without a plan. The flood rises, the bombs fall, and he stumbles. His confidence is his ruin. He never saw the oncoming danger. 

I was told about this type of person - a shopkeeper in Madrid. He had read the papers and heard the talk about the civil war that was about to break out. He believed he understood politics and the war. But when the fighting came, he told his family it was nothing to fear. He kept his doors open, his shelves full, and his drink strong. When soldiers marched down the street and bombs fell close to his shop, he stood frozen in disbelief. His plans for the future unraveled before his eyes. His confidence was his undoing.

On the flip side, there is another type of character who is full of doubt. He knows he does not know enough. But this knowing does not help. It freezes him. He waits for others to move first. When the time comes, he stands still. The world crashes around him, and he stands still, powerless.        

In fact, I once heard of such a type. His name was Gonzalo, a quiet clerk in Barcelona. He lived in a small flat with a window that looked out onto empty streets. He had always doubted himself and everything else. When the war broke, he hesitated at every order to join the army. He feared acting wrong, saying wrong, moving wrong. When the city burned, he stayed inside, silent and waiting. He was powerless because he could not summon the will to act.

Both men met the war unprepared—one with bluster, the other with fear. Neither was ready to live or die well. Both men were caught by events that sneaked into their lives like a thief in the night. One was caught by pride, the other by fear. Neither was ready.

If you know your time can end at any moment, what then? You cannot know all. You cannot know nothing. You must stay awake. You must face the day with eyes open, steady and strong. Watch people and the world as it is. And with the fullness of wisdom at your disposal, do what is right. Act as if your destiny has prepared you for this moment.

This is survival. This is the truth.