We know our names and the names of our loved ones. We know when to get up in the morning and what to eat for breakfast. We know what is healthy and that we should work out more. We know how to eat with fork and knife. We also know that it is not okay to yell at each other or to cut the lines. We know when reports are due and when we get the next paycheck. And we are fully aware that spending $200 on chocolate and wine is not the best use of the little money we have and we know that at this very moment we don’t care about that.
We, however, don’t know if we will make it to 2028 and what our lives will be if we do. We don’t know whether tomorrow, a guy will cut across three lanes and run us over while we are riding our bikes getting some exercise. After all, that chocolate was a lot today. We don’t know who we will meet tomorrow and whether this person will mess up our lives. We don’t know whether tomorrow our son will come and tell us that his name is “Dwain.” We also don’t know whether they will find out that organic California-grown vegetables contain new soil toxins leading to long-term health damage. And in 2023 we may realize that silverware has fallen out of fashion entirely.
All we can do is act by what we know today. We should not judge past decisions by today’s knowledge.