There’s a lot of ego trying to find/justify itself in this piece — lol, so I immediately look to the self, to see if I am projecting. Still, I tend to let the words flow, finding they come from a “smarter” place, deep within, when in the present moment & centered.

I did enjoy your piece — the many good points it covered. Yet all of this, it seems to me, is tangled-up in the relativity of comparisons. There will always be someone smarter — & dumber — than we are performing in that moment. Nor do others’ ideas about anything rule us — unless we allow that.

When we choose to only compare self with self — perhaps at an earlier age — we’re in better shape. What the world views as smart is irrelevant to that. This is all mind stuff, by the mind & for the minds of others. Yet, we’re so much deeper than that.

Guess I was like you — have the 4 degrees (3 with honors) to at least show I took the walk. Graduated high school in 3 years — not tremendously smart, it’s just that learning was easy, little or no effort required. What did it get me? Depends on whose values we’re using — on our perspective.

With time things change, values change, as do opinions — knowledge is ever changing, as well. I find today’s religion of science not so bright. Why? They don’t seem to take into account that literally all of their current Belief Systems — “proven” by whatever experimentation — will be washed away by future discoveries, understandings. The white-robed priests guard their ivory towers of current, established “truths” with all they’ve got, not letting the mavericks, bringing in the new understandings, have a voice in their holy texts — the published journals. Ptooey! They’re so full of themselves 😆 It’s become a religion.

Yet, they’re smart — right?

Question literally everything! I call that smart. It leads to the better future we all desire quicker than reliance on our current beliefs around “smart.” As you say — be willing to say, “I don’t know.” 😉

~♥~