Yesterday I Was Clever

Posted on September 14, 2026 by mitchteemley

Yesterday I Was Clever

Thought for the Week: “Yesterday I Was Clever…

“…so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ~Rumi

No one can remain young. Although some manage to approximate it by remaining foolish. Sadly, our world encourages such behavior, and it always has. The phrase “live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse” derives from a comment about aristocrats’ children in the 1800s. But the brash pursuit of pleasure over hard-earned wisdom goes back even further (let’s just say Adam and Eve).

Why?

Because pleasure is a pretty little bubble that appears one moment and is gone the next. But wisdom is a vast, sheltering oak that grows slowly and unobserved. It’s the result not just of time (there are plenty of foolish old people), but of circumspection. It is born of patience and humility, and it endures, harboring others in its boughs for generations to come.

So let us look

beyond what we see

to what we will be

∴

About mitchteemley

Writer, Filmmaker, Humorist, Thinker-about-stuffer
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34 Responses to Yesterday I Was Clever

  1. tulacelinastonebridge says:
    September 14, 2026 at 11:15 am

    Soweit die Bibel, haben Adam und Eva es bitterlich bereut. Heute bereut niemand, reich und schön zu sein, oder nicht so reich und nicht so schön zu sein, aber sich trotzdem alles kaufen zu können, was man will.
    Im Prinzip ist es bergab gegangen.
    Das wurde ja auch vorhergesagt – in den Veden, der Bibel etc.
    Schon komisch, das Ganze.
    Danke für deinen Gedankenanstupser heute. 🙏 🙂

    Reply
  2. Kounselling says:
    September 14, 2026 at 11:22 am

    Mitch, lovely post.
    On a completely separate note, I remember you once wrote about your blog not receiving the usual number of views and visitors. I wonder, how did you sort this out? as I seem to be experiencing it now as well.

    Reply
  3. byngnigel says:
    September 14, 2026 at 12:06 pm

    Hopefully, we all realise this. 😊

    Reply
  4. luisa zambrotta says:
    September 14, 2026 at 12:57 pm

    I love this so much, Mitch.
    Rumi’s quote is a powerful reminder, and your words on patience and humility perfectly complement it.

    Reply
  5. K Mark Schofer says:
    September 14, 2026 at 1:58 pm

    But wisdom is a vast, sheltering oak that grows slowly and unobserved. It’s the result not just of time

    How perfect is this and how true

    Reply
  6. peterspetra says:
    September 14, 2026 at 3:10 pm

    « On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. » this is what Saint-Exupéry said. These are not exactly the same words, but the idea is related, I believe. (literally: You can see well only with your heart. The essence is invisibles for the eyes).

    Reply
  8. Nancy Homlitas says:
    September 14, 2026 at 3:48 pm

    Exceptional quote and message to mull over. Thanks, Mitch! 🙂

    Reply
  9. Victoria says:
    September 14, 2026 at 5:05 pm

    Love this, Mitch: …”pleasure is a pretty little bubble…”
    Yup – here and gone!
    Many thanks! 💝

    Reply
  10. cswatts says:
    September 14, 2026 at 9:01 pm

    Wisdom, just like the oak tree, takes time and nurturing to thrive. Great post.

    Reply
  11. Bronlima says:
    September 14, 2026 at 10:40 pm

    The oak,…… guess we all shed leaves and allow new ones to grow, all through our lives. Meanwhile the branches grow stronger.

    Reply
  12. Andrew McDowell says:
    September 15, 2026 at 6:43 am

    Well said, Mitch.

    Reply
  13. boromax says:
    September 15, 2026 at 9:18 am

    I like the comparison between the bubble and the oak. We will enjoy plenty of bubbles over the years, but the steadfastness of the oak is what will sustain us through ‘thick and thin.’ I pray that submission to patience and humility and circumspection will make me worthy of the hallowed term, Elder.

    Reply
  14. Priti says:
    September 15, 2026 at 11:33 am

    Changing ourselves is better 😁 well shared

    Reply
  15. Anonymous says:
    September 16, 2026 at 1:26 pm

    I love this! Thanks for the wisdom, Mitch.

    Reply
  16. idesiretomakeadifference says:
    September 17, 2026 at 7:52 am

    And THAT, is what you call a wise man 👏👏

    Reply

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