True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.

—Socrates

Lately I’ve been wondering if a general lack of understanding of what makes us tick is manifesting itself with somewhat extreme behavior. It’s not endlessly analyzing the decisions of others, especially those who think differently than us, that I’m talking about—although I wonder if that, in itself, is a manifestation. Rather it’s going through life without the foggiest idea why we do some of the things we do. Or worse, not even thinking we have a choice in how we act. A pandemic mixed with a tanked economy along with political and social unrest brings hidden/unknown things to the surface.

Oddly I find some comfort in our current craziness: We don’t have things figured out; we’re less in control than we thought. This newfound humility is somehow a great relief to me, as I realized when I was unexpectedly encouraged by the words of Socrates that appeared in my Franklin Covey organizer this week.

This month’s Wise Words article, “Shefali Tsabary on Conscious Relationships,” by Sandra Yeyati, talks of the importance of having a relationship with yourself before you can have a successful romantic relationship. Without that first relationship in place, Tsabary says, it’s natural for us to look to someone else to “fill us up,” which often leads to disappointment. I suspect a lot of us would benefit from developing a better relationship with ourselves at this time for the sake of all of our relationships. It makes it easier to know that we don’t have to have understanding; we just need to try—to move in the direction of connecting with ourselves and learning more of what makes us tick.

Wishing you authentic love this February,

Shannon