A fun indulgence for a snack to satisfy one’s need is a pani puri. The hollow wheat ball is stuffed with a potato mixture, awaiting the final step. One takes the ball, fills it with different types of flavoured water and voila! One has a one-bite indulgence that can turn into an incredible explosion of flavours, textures, and so much more.
The pursuit, especially in Dubai, is for the perfect pani puri. So many are so close. This evening was something special. Crisp, a fun potato combination with a hint of spice, and two sauces that took one’s experience in unexpected directions! As the quantity of indulgences passed a dozen pani puris for the two of us, I could hear the whispers offering lessons for the day ahead.
Wisdom is rarely perfect for reasons I easily forget. I often give my trust to unreliable sources, losing sight of the warning left by those before me: “The wisdom I’ve looked for I haven’t found. I didn’t find one man or woman in a thousand worth my while.” (Ecclesiastes 7.28). Even when I do find it, I set aside my biases and preconceived notions. The result is that I see and experience wisdom through a filtered lens and mindset. I see what I am looking to see. I experience what I am looking to experience. In short, I reinforce what I already think is true.
Wisdom is never found in one sitting. If my life testifies to anything, it is one observation. For me, it takes a lot of wisdom and patience to make a better man! Fortunately, life offers wisdom in consumable doses each day. I have come to appreciate that wisdom is often wasted on me. I ignore the unconditional gifts, thinking they must be for someone else. Even when I pick one up, I forget the keys that make wisdom useful: openness, responsiveness, and a willingness to embrace what I now know.
The pani puris were excellent. The quest is not over. There are more carts to find, more indulgences to be experienced and shared.
