The older I get, the more difficult this subject becomes to me, and then again sometimes it doesn't and experience makes it easier to actually feel I do know something, and I choose NOT to do anything. I do think both doing and choosing to not do something ties in perfectly with the conclusion you reached: "I do the best I can with what I know".

My journey in life brought me from "if I think something needs to be done, I better do it myself so it gets done right" to "If I cannot cooperate with others and trust other people's viewpoints it doesn't matter so much what I do".

When I started on my latest twist in my history to apply permaculture I was confronted with "it's better to observe for a hundred hours to decide to work for a few hours, than to only observe for a few hours and thoughtlessly work for a hundred." In combination with: "always aim for the smallest changes that have the biggest effect".

Life has a flow, like a steady stream. If you try to constantly go against it, it will wear you off. Thoughtless labour will do the same. In some oriental culture (I forgot which one) they have a philosophy called "the art of not doing", which is quite interesting. In medical science there is the principle "do no harm" (although the profit motive has reduced the importance of that principle a lot unfortunately).

The law of unintended consequences is always with us when we act. Maybe being thoughtful and having a focus on exploration or observation is better than saying we have to always act to be of value.

I'm going through these thoughts a lot these years. Yes actions speak louder than words, but wisdom is not only about acting. Sometimes it is better not to act.

Complicated stuff :-) ...