French for "To go beyond one's limits"
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How to say "wise" in French?

Autumn in the Rhone 
Autumn and the sound, in the distance, of leaves crunching underfoot

 

sagesse (saah zhess) noun, feminine

    wisdom, (good) sense; discretion

Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc read these expressions:

faire preuve de sagesse = to be sensible
la sagesse populaire = popular (or traditional) wisdom
agir avec sagesse = to act wisely
la dent de sagesse = wisdom tooth 

 


A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE... by Kristin Espinasse

(Note: I am away until end of next week. This story was written 6 years ago... )

I am sitting at the edge of the bed, looking out the window at November. Once the pomp and parade of fall colors fade, what is left are the ashes of autumn. The earth turns in on itself and so do those who trod upon it. In the darkness, questions come to light, nagging issues such as, What is important in this life?

I look over to my teenage son, who is busy with the task of grooming. He's got my tattered trousse de toilette beside him, having fished out the clippers from inside.

"Max," I question, "If you were given the chance to share an important pensée with the entire world, what would that message be?"

Next, I brace myself for that flicker of genius to appear... the kind that graces children—and chance be ours when we're focused enough to hear!

I wait patiently for "the message" to be mysteriously channeled through my 13-year-old son with the overgrown toenails. I'm one to believe in the pureness of pint-sized knowledge and hope to be tuned in when Sagesse speaks, "out of the mouth of babes".

Leaning forward, I put my ear close to the chapped lips of the would-be child savant, and this is what I hear:

"Je ne sais pas, Maman."

With that, the messenger resumes his toenail clipping. That'll do, I decide, letting the answer linger a bit.

Doubt creeps in and I double check with the mini messiah. "'I don't know.' Is that it? Is that what you have to share with the world?"

"Mmmhmmm," Max replies, and I watch a few more nail clippings rocket through the air. Some messages come with fireworks, I decide, never mind these aren't sizzling.

Well, I can work with that. And so I do. I think about Max's "I don't know" answer to a meaningful life. The "I don't know" concept is, after all, brillant! For, with knowledge comes power and how many of us make the mistake of tacking pride on to that? Pride then squashes humility and things tend to go downhill (Pride goeth before the fall...) from there.

And knowledge, or too much of it, sometimes leads to fear. I listen to friends talk about the effect that all those info-packed newspaper headlines had on the economy. Panic sent people zipping up their pocket books. Companies shut down. People lost jobs.

I don't mean to give the big K, "Knowledge," a bad name... no, I'd never argue with my faith-filled mom when she tells me to fill up on The Word! Only, I sometimes wonder about how much I should strive to know when a lot of what I take in only serves to distract. Bits and pieces of this and that and, before I know it, I've gotten off track! There I am, left spinning in the superflu. My dad once said, "You think too much!" and, you know, I now think he's right: so busy are we sifting through a magnitude of facts, that the basic ideas get hidden beneath all those "informative" stacks.

Most times I'm guilty of assumption: when I think I know something and, in fact, I've got it all wrong. Such "insights" paint my perceptions and, busy with a wealth of tidbits, I'm circling through a Never Never Land of ideas again.

I once had a Mensa-ish friend, one of those brilliant types, but what amazed me was her humility. I'll never forget her response when asked about her know-it-ness. She abruptly raised both hands... and began hitting her head! "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" she shouted, in all sincerity (none of that false
modesty). Her startling, head tapping show, wonderfully illustrates the concept of "I Don't Know!"

Knowledge isn't all bad, especially when it connects us to another:
Having known pain, one sympathizes with the sufferer,
having known poverty, one understands need,
having known injustice, one argues for the accused,
having known loss, one's heart goes out to the grief-stricken,
having known fear, one comforts the frightened.

                            *    *     *
I'm beginning to think that what is important in life is not how much we know, but what little we can focus on. In my case, the teenage toenail clipper sitting beside me. While I'll never understand the physics behind those "flying toenails," how they self-launch following each clip of the cutters, I can know the fondness I feel for a boy whose "message," in the end, is ever so coy.

 

French Vocabulary

 la trousse de toilette = make-up (shaving) bag

une pensée = thought

la Sagesse = Wisdom

Je ne sais pas, Maman = I don't know, Mom

Exercises in French PhonicsExercises in French Phonics is... 
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51Qckm1DSfL._SL500_AA280_I Heart Paris Shopper: made of recycled material

 

Capture plein écran 03112014 104029
Everyone puts "Laguiole" on their "to buy" list when coming to France. But did you know you can get these popular French knives online? Click here.

Tune Up Your French: Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Spoken French 

 

DSC_0018 
Dashing Smokey... looking quite wise, too!

See you at the end of next week, with a fresh update after my trip!

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

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For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety

Comments

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Chris Allin

I wonder what Max would say today...

Julie Farrar

I think I missed this one. Yes, out of the mouth of babes comes great wisdom. It's a brave thing to say "I don't know." So, Kristin, does your family do anything to celebrate Thanksgiving in France? I know from my own experience of being there twice on this holiday how hard it is to find a decent piece of turkey to cook. But anyway -- blessings to you and your family on this distinctly American holiday.

Judi

Brilliant! Absolutely, brilliant! Beaucoup de pensees marchent dans ma tete!! Mercie pour la poste merveilleuse!😊

ellen

I had been thinking about getting a nice set of steak knives. When I saw the lovely Laguiole knives in your recent post I knew it was time to act. They are so pretty and nice and sharp. Only difference is that my set came with a grey knife instead of the crimson colored one in your picture. I recommend these to all your readers. The link takes you to Amazon.

Natalia

Our dear Kristi,
Thanksgiving Eve here is always a time to reflect on our blessings;to be grateful for things both past and those in the future.
For certain we are so appreciative for sharing your life with us,your experiences,your family, and YOU!
One quote I love that I think sums it up perfectly: "When you talk,you are only reeating what you already know;but when you listen,you may learn something new."(Dalai Lama)
Love,
Natalia XO

Leslie NYC

Happy Thanksgiving!
There is so much I don't know. Thank God!
I used to think I knew more.
I was misinformed!

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