Why I’m writing

Dear kids,

I’m oftentimes struck by subtle & quiet moments, where things just click. It’s a revelation of what’s true and a dismissal of what’s convincing but not. In these moments, I feel compelled to share but unsure to whom. On one hand, it’s an over-share to friends and family (even Mom at times), yet on the other, it’s the purest expression of my love. Here, I hope that one day, you can read this — maybe it clicks now, maybe a distant day, or maybe never — but here, I’m just grateful that it’s been seen.

As I’ve grown older, I am starting to distinguish wisdom from intelligence, two terms that I’ve always conflated. Both seek truth, but through different approaches — intelligence through rationality & logic, but wisdom through lived experience. There is a hierarchy though, in that wisdom will always triumph over intelligence because wisdom doesn’t ignore intelligence but intelligence will often ignore wisdom.

“One of the big traps we have in the West is our intelligence, because we want to know what we know. Freedom allows you to be wise, but you cannot know wisdom. You must be wisdom… The intellect is a beautiful servant, but a terrible master. Intellect is the power tool of our separateness. The intuitive, compassionate heart is the doorway to our unity.” – Ram Dass

When in doubt, choose what is wise over what is intelligent. Our intellect is indeed a beautiful servant, but it subconsciously becomes our master, and this is a mistake. And yes if I’m being candid, there’s a part of me that’s writing this because I don’t want you to make the same mistakes. I can already hear Mom in the back of my head, saying it’s not my job to live your life, and she’s right. But I also love you deeply, even though you’re just a baby lentil (8 weeks as of today), so here is my “non-invasive” love letter to you.

Love, Dad