A wise wise man, that Willie Nelson…
Willie Nelson full of these little nuggets of wisdom.
Remember this one?
But it goes deeper…
Good stuff.
In an interview with Slate from a few years back, Willie got to sharing some more of that signature Willie Nelson wisdom. When asked about his lengthy career, in particular, as a young man, what did he think about being old?
And now that he’s older, what does he understand about being young, Willie answered as only the great Willie Nelson can:
“Well, when I was young, I was pretty dumb. And now that I’m older, I’m pretty f*cking dumb. I don’t know everything, and I think I do.
So there’s the problem. I didn’t ever think I’d get this old… I always thought I was lucky to make it past 21.”
When asked if there was anything he’d tell his younger self:
“Well, I don’t know that anything I would say now is anything that I would’ve listened to back then. I was still too stubborn to listen to anything or anybody, and I’ve had a lot of bruises because of it.
And I’ve lived through it. But I don’t know that if I went back I’d change anything.”
Take notes people…
It’s very true though, you’re never old enough to know it all.
When I turned 22, I looked back on 18 and thought, “man, was I dumb.” And then I turned 27 and looked back on 22 and thought, “man, was I dumb.”
And now at 34, I look back on 27 and think, “man, was I a dumbass.”
And here’s the thing… something tells me it’s going to be that way forever, and it’s probably the same experience for just about everybody… if they’re wise enough to recognize it.
Hopefully, we can all do well to realize it in the moment as we move along through this crazy little thing called life.
Kinda heavy for a Sunday afternoon, eh? Oh well…
God bless Willie Nelson.
