To Bliss, or Not To Bliss....

The word "ignorance" is given such a bad rap.  If you call someone "ignorant"  they take it as an insult. It is taken as another word for "stupid", or "dumb".  Well, if you're ignorant, it doesn't mean you're dumb, it just means- you don't know.  Just because you don't know, doesn't mean you're dumb, it just means you haven't learned it yet.  If a 5 year old doesn't know about molecules, it doesn't mean he's dumb, he just hasn't been taught about them.  Get it?  It was Cicero who said, "I am not ashamed to confess that I am ignorant of what I do not know."  So then, you can't really fault anyone for being ignorant... they are just uninformed.

That brings me to what is probably the more better known "ignorance" quote:  "ignorance is bliss".  This quote has been on my mind for a long time.  I've always heard it used with a negative connotation.  As if, you specifically choose not to find out about something because you're an idiot, or stuck in a blissful oblivion. In pondering the phrase, I have come to realize that it can also be a very peaceful way to go about living life.  Imagine how relaxed and stress-free your life would be if you simply weren't aware of the crap going on around you?  For example,  we all learned in science class that the light we receive from the sun is actually 8 minutes old.  So, it takes 8 minutes for the light to reach us.  What if the sun JUST turned off?  We wouldn't know about it for 8 minutes.  Would you want to know? Wouldn't it be better to just live the last 8 minutes of your life in blissful ignorance,  just doing everyday, normal things? I think I would prefer to remain ignorant of the sun turning off.... but that's just me.

Look at the story of Adam and Eve.  Everything was perfect and all was bliss, but then Eve had to go and eat fruit from the "knowledge of good and evil" tree.  She just HAD to know about good and evil, and here we are today in a not-so-blissful world.  Thank you, Eve for taking away the bliss!

Sometimes, I think it would be so relaxing, if I just didn't know certain things.  Like,... I would like to NOT know that a certain diet soda is actually bad for me.  I really enjoyed my daily fix of the poison.  Now that I know, my life is ruined.  OK, maybe not ruined.... but I really enjoyed my diet soda!  Ignorance of that piece of knowledge WAS bliss.

So, when you think you want to know, when you think you HAVE to know, you may want to be very sure as to whether or not you REALLY need to know.  Knowing may open your eyes to something you'd rather stay ignorant about, thus, making your life bliss-less. 

Getting Out

I'm sure many have said it one way or another, but I think Mark Twain is cool, so I'll quote him.  He said, "It's easier to stay out than get out".

In this time of great change in my life, I have come to the realization that I have an addiction problem. I know this may come as a shock to many of you who think I am super-awesome, but nonetheless, we are all human and fall way short of perfection.  So, "let he who has not sinned, cast the first stone", (that was NOT Mark Twain, ...or Billy Joel.  That was Jesus, who was also pretty cool).

So, I ask of you, my friends, that you keep me in your hearts and minds, as each day passes, that I may be strong and abstain from this addiction that has had a hold of me for many many years. I have tried to quit many times,  but it keeps dragging me back in!  Today was day one,... again.  It was difficult.  I was a just a liiiiitle cranky, but as the day winds down I realize that I have won today's battle, but tomorrow is another day, and the war will continue on.  I must remain strong and vigilant and not give in to temptation. 

Diet Coke will NOT defeat me!  I WILL get out of it's grip! And let this be a warning to all of you... don't even start,  just stay out-trust me, it really is easier to STAY out, than it is to GET out.

........ I AM pretty thirsty, though.....