Don't follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as

Joan Rivers, a woman of sharp wit yet deep insight, once declared: “Don't follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise.” In this, she unites two great realms of judgment: the mind, which reasons, and the spirit, which feels. Advice may glitter with cleverness, may shine with logic, but unless it resonates in the hidden chambers of the heart, it cannot safely guide one’s life.

The essence of this teaching is balance. Too often men err by trusting only the mind, following arguments that sound flawless but lack truth. Others err by trusting only the spirit, swayed by passion or impulse without thought. Rivers, with uncommon clarity, teaches that wisdom is born when both are aligned—when the intellect agrees and the soul affirms. Then, and only then, is counsel worthy to be followed.

History gives us solemn proof. When the Athenians were urged to launch their fleet against Sicily, the counsel seemed logical: wealth, glory, expansion. The mind of the city was persuaded. Yet their spirit—the quiet instinct of caution—was ignored. Disaster followed, and Athens never recovered its strength. Their tragedy reveals Rivers’ wisdom: counsel, however clever, must ring true in both thought and spirit.

So too, consider Abraham Lincoln in the dark years of the Civil War. Advisors urged him to compromise on the issue of slavery to hasten peace. The advice was rational; it promised fewer losses, quicker reconciliation. But his spirit knew it was false counsel. He felt deeply that a nation built on liberty could not endure half-slave and half-free. Because he waited for alignment of mind and spirit, his decision carried the weight of destiny, and freedom was won for millions.

O children of tomorrow, remember this teaching: let not your ears alone guide you, nor your reasoning alone, nor even your passions alone. Test all counsel against both mind and spirit, and if they stand together, then walk forward boldly. But if they war within you, pause—for the wisest road is the one where thought and soul agree. Rivers, though clothed in the garment of humor, here speaks as an ancient sage: true wisdom is harmony between the head and the heart.