The Power of “I Don’t Know”
Iwould like to know how a text message gets from one cell phone to another. And how does it get there without getting mixed up with other text messages? Where do text messages go after they are deleted? Is there a “text message landfill” somewhere with old texts, emoticons, and selfies? Is text “air space” unlimited? Are billions of text messages responsible for global warming? The more I think about it, the more I am baffled by the whole thing. For me, this is like asking, “How many angels can stand on the head of pin?” It brings me to the point of saying what I never want to admit: I don’t know!
The words of philosopher Maimonides, “Teach thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know,’ and thou shalt progress,” are hard to swallow. We do anything and everything to get around the words, “I don’t know.” We fake it, avoid it, pretend, tell lies, talk around it, and do anything but say it. Maybe the drive for power or the need for acceptance or the desire to feel safe keep us from admitting this simple fact. It could simply be the feeling that saying, “I don’t know” is an admission of weakness, perhaps stupidity. No one wants to been seen as weak, lacking in experience or intelligence.
What power in just three words!
