I was offered a pearl the today.

Sadly, it wasn’t elegantly set in an exquisite piece of jewellery; it was one of the ‘wisdom’ variety. And it was offered by someone who doesn’t know me very well. At all. Which both irritated and amused me.

When I’d prized open the oyster, the general gist of its contents was that, if one does like one’s life, one must change it.

Fair enough. Hypocrite that I am, I’ve been guilty of proffering this pearl to others, on occasion, though I hope I’ve been more discerning in its use.

For instance, if you’re doing a job you don’t like, and complaining about the job, because it’s giving you a ulcer and making you want to walk round with a bucket on your head, then the sensible option would be to look for another job.

But sometimes, oftentimes, perhaps, things, a lot of things, in our lives are waaaaaaaaaaay outside the remits of our control and changing them, rectifying them, righting them is impossible.

You can’t always heal others’ wounds, or breathe life into the dead. You can’t claw back fragments of your existence that have already been stolen, or rocket-boost the economy back into a more ‘friendly’ state. You can’t stop knife wielding maniacs sticking daggers in your back, Christ, you can’t even see them coming, and you can’t sow your seeds on barren land and expect your crop to flourish and thrive.

There are lots of things you can’t do. And, equally, there are lots of things you can.

The real wisdom lies, I suppose, in knowing the difference.