A great teacher wrote me, “I’m at my wits end.” I couldn’t get that out of my mind. What would the implications and consequences be if this usually resilient person reached that point. I have a hunch that by exploring our emotional state these days, defining it, naming it, we can move through it to some sort of idea for action.
I was interested to look at the meaning in that phrase–at my wits end. The current meaning is simple– at the end of one’s knowledge where you’ve tried every way you can think of to solve a problem.
The phrase originated in the King James Version of the Holy Bible in Psalms 107: 27. “They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.”
The archaic definition of ‘wit’ was knowledge. So the phrase meant the people were at the end of their knowledge, at the point where they must rely on faith.
So for my teacher friend and the rest of us, at wits end, where can we place our faith? Again and again, I have placed my faith in the ultimate turn of the universe that includes both good and evil. I place my faith in the good hearts of the many people I know in education. I place my faith in the possibilities I’ve seen where a good leader revived a struggling school, a good teacher revived a struggling student’s spark, a good community supported unusual efforts to provide for people who struggled.
Faith in humanity that we keep trying.
I believe there must be some faith in myself as well.
If you are at wits end, where do you or could you place your faith?