Hey it's been a while... I've made a lot of drafts but nothing was really sticking or having real worth. So what we have here today is me double-dipping and using my English homework for my blog. We were assigned to do a "This I Believe" paper, which is just a belief you have, and why it's important to you. So, here's a little something I believe.
Ignorance is bliss. Usually we say this with a degree of sarcasm and condescension. He doesn’t know anything about politics or the economy, we say. Ah, well, ignorance is bliss, I suppose. I believe there are aspects of this saying that are very insightful and wise. Ignorance is bliss is a common phrase with an uncommon hidden meaning.
How many times have we said, I miss the good ole’ days. The days where we spent all day running and playing, the days where crossing the road was the most dangerous thing we did, and making friends was as easy as picking your nose. Okay, so maybe not the picking your nose part, but I miss the naivete of childhood. I miss being ignorant to the worries of the world, to not caring how I would be perceived if I did what I wanted to do. I know I’m probably still pretty ignorant by most standards, but I know a lot more than I would like to.
The best things are the things we never see coming. I think my biggest issue with being “informed” is that people come to expect things like they happen in the movies, or to the celebrities, or in the steamy books some read. If you spend your life wanting to be like someone else, I think you’re in for a lot of disappointment. Girls in particular watch all of those romantic comedies, and then they start thinking. And then they start overthinking. I am probably one of the biggest culprits of this. Oh my gosh! Like, what if my best guy friend really loves me? If I go on vacation to some exotic place, I’ll find the man of my dreams! This kind of thinking ends up breaking many a heart, because they miss the most important part of the story. The characters don’t go out looking for love, they just happen upon situations, completely ignorant to the love that’s awaiting them.
Finding love isn’t the only perk of being ignorant. Ignorance also prevents desensitization. I don’t watch rated R movies, and sometimes I get a lot of crap for that, but I honestly believe that I can get through life without them. I know that not everyone shares this view, and there are some really funny or powerful movies out there that I will never watch but I don’t want to see or hear anything that deserves to be rated R. It’s really simple to me. Things like that stay in your mind and affect your thinking. Some would argue that some of those movies have extreme historical importance, and maybe if you want to be informed about certain things, it is important to subject yourself to horrifying movies about the holocaust, or child abuse, or whatever. But to be more blissful in life, I choose to ignore things that will totally devastate me in spirit. Ignorance is bliss isn’t the phrase for everyone. Some people would rather know the gritty details about everything so they can make better, more educated decisions. But I am not that person. I’m the person who won’t listen until I learn it for myself. I’d rather be blissfully unaware until the time comes where I have to face my problems, and then I will deal with them as I believe is right, and not what I’ve seen done in other people’s lives. Blissful ignorance is what helps me to make my own decisions.
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