It was my visit to the doctor with my mom yesterday that showed me what this expression means. I’ve heard all my life about knowing just enough to be dangerous, but I didn’t really contemplate it before.
I didn’t understand why my mom was supposed to keep doing something that in my mind was no longer useful. To my mind it seemed counterintuitive, yet when the doctor explained it to me, it was obviously necessary.
When I had a gallbladder attack, and subsequent surgery, several “healers” told me I could heal it naturally, their message being “if I just tried hard enough.” Well, I tried everything I knew and lost almost 30 lbs and was sick all the time until I had surgery. They knew just enough to be dangerous and I was lucky to have an advocate with a medical background to support and advise me.
I’m sure this could apply to building a house, driving a car, anything we do in life when we think we know more than we really do. At the root of it is egotism and pride in our own opinion without the benefit of enough training in that particular area. There is always a pushy quality to it of thinking we know better what someone needs or wants than they do.
My take away is to be aware and mindful of this: when offering advice and counsel, make sure it comes from a pure place of helping and not from wanting to appear the expert.
Sukoshi Rice is a philosopher and wellness coach practicing in Blairsville since 1985. She can be reached at sukoshir@gmail.com or www.sukoshirice.com
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