Ignorance Can Be Bliss

Happy New Year! Whew, I feel like 2025 flew by even while sometimes feeling like it was dragging on. This is the perfect segue into what's been on my mind recently.

Whenever one year ends and another begins there's a lot of reflection about the previous twelve months. It's all around us, in the media, and a popular topic of conversation. This review is often laced with complaints and criticism which can be valid, however I encourage you to take more time looking for the good and seeking that for which you can be grateful. This can be accomplished by taking stock of everything in your life that has value. This might mean looking at your health and even if it's not perfect, what parts of it are excellent? Who are the people in your life that help you feel supported and loved? How many basic comforts do you enjoy such as a warm home with a cozy bed? What brings you pleasure and how easily can you access it? What are your talents and abilities and are you using them fully?

All this and more is a delight to ponder. So what gets in the way of us fully exploring all that we have to appreciate? Getting into others' business. There has always been gossip and I love the Google Dictionary definition:

casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true

We have conversations about famous or well-known people and speak as if we just had lunch with them the other day when they spilled all the details of  their lives directly to us, when actually we read something in People Magazine. Not really fair, but some might say that being in the lime-light invites that kind of curiosity, scrutiny and speculation. We can get all caught up in someone else's comings and goings, which may or not be true, but it certainly distracts us from our own accountability. The way I see it, because we have become increasingly more obsessed with total strangers' lives, we are in a constant state of comparison and we somehow never quite measure up. Thanks to the ubiquitous and "always on" cell phones and our 24/7 access to social media, we've lost touch with the magic of our own, personal existence. 

There's a saying in the halls of 12-step Programs: "What someone else thinks of me is none of my business." That could be expanded to include, "What I think of someone else is none of their business and what really matters is how we each, individually, behave." The manner in which we conduct ourselves and the relationship we develop with ourselves will have the biggest impact on us personally and affect others profoundly. 

Ignorance can be dangerous. It can lead to poor choices that affect all aspects of our day-to-day existence. It can land us in difficult situations. It can open the door to manipulation and abuse and fuel misinformation. And, ignorance can be bliss. Being able to focus on the beauty and abundance around us is a gift. Watching the news or obsessing about others' activities incessantly can cause stress, anxiety, and pain, especially if there is little we can do about it in the moment. Not knowing relieves us of the false sense that we must fix everything that's "wrong" and lets us focus on where we can offer the most assistance.

I am not advocating for full-blown obliviousness -- that would be irresponsible. What I am advocating for is choosing your battles. You will be stronger in what you support if you focus on what strengthens you and helps you be your best self. Dropping the "need to know" everybody else's business brings us blissful peace. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs encourages us to strive to reach our own self-actualization. Nowhere on the diagram or pyramid ,as it is sometimes referred to, does it advocate losing ourselves in everyone else's circus of events. 

Sending Sparkles and Love Your Way!