What did you get?

©2026 Steve Gray

Wisdom, knowledge, understanding, satisfaction?

As a child and then into adulthood, what was passed on, directly, explicitly taught and things that simply washed over us. Things that we didn’t expect to have an influence, but there we were reflecting on those things, subtle things, perhaps boring things at the time but now, they have some relevance as we reflect.

I was smacked for doing something I shouldn’t have done as an innocent five year old, and was being shown a boundary of what was right and wrong, therefore a somewhat painful understanding developed.

As children it was regimentally instilled that we should respect elders, the fallen, those who currently serve and those in positions of authority. Sometimes it was a nudge, or a tap to the back of my head but I learnt. Values and beliefs about the way things were meant to be were passed on, some form of weird osmosis would take place and we would get the lesson as it were.

Wisdom, now there’s a thing to pin down, knowledge in action some say. It’s about navigating our perilous world, making use of positive knowledge to reach our destination through effective engagement.’Keep your wits about you.’ my father said, you move forward, you gain knowledge, you apply that knowledge and aim for a good outcome. Wise words indeed dad.

Satisfaction, that wonderful feeling of achievement, when everything you have done has landed you comfortably into your current position, warm, relaxed, totally at ease reflecting on a job well done. Satisfaction, perhaps a fleeting state, a moment of resplendent pause before we move on to tackle whatever is coming next.