After years of soul searching…I can say that I have found my Bliss.  It’s been with me all along I just did not recognize it to be.

Bliss thy name is Ignorance.                                            

You know all those sayings that we humans tend to live by?  They exist for a reason.  Pretty much because someone was clever enough to take a complex issue and reduce it into a tiny nugget of wisdom that just rolls off the tongue, is fairly easy to remember and thus,  the thought would be to live by and apply to our daily lives. Also the trick would be to not be completely literal in the application. Think outside the bun and these idiomatic expressions are treasures for sure. For example:

•  A  penny saved is a penny earned” ,
•  a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush. 
• The road to hell is paved with good intention ( ok I admit, I am not so sure that one is really right for today’s dissertation. , I just like it)
•  Kill 2 birds with one stone – which by the way, has been rephrased to reflect the changing times to;
•  Kill 1 pig with 2 birds( where by it loses a little of it’s wisdom and logic but we aren’t going there)
• and the focus of today and my favorite…. Ignorance is Bliss

There are many. Really I could go on all day but I am trying to be more mindful of keeping my fecund imagination and prolific writing in check so as not to cause you excessive time away from whatever it is you were doing or are going to do after subjecting yourself to my point of view, standpoint and / or , mental attitude.   And I should probably point out that I downloaded a dictionary / thesaurus app just this morning in case you are concerned I might be ill or a little more cracked than usual.  I assure you I am just having a little fun.  I haven’t had a point of reference for word usage in ages.  I will get over it momentarily if you will bear with me.

I like to befuddle my children with expressions such as these and even have a few that are solely for that purpose. (their utter confusion)

•  6 in one, half a dozen in the other.  The meaning is clear but say it fast and watch their faces.
• layovers to catch meddlers – um this one is just for confusion too..I think it means just because  – shh don’t tell them I don’t know

A caution to parents; while it is tempting to impart these nuggets of wisdom on our children as a way to get them to think and learn and all that good stuff….. Ignorance is bliss is not an expression I would try to teach them too early.  As in before 45. I just happen to catch on a little faster than the average bear and I figured it out all by myself.  Sort of. Either way, the true meaning is lost on the kids and they will just use it as an excuse to not do their homework.

The reason I never realized that Ignorance really is Bliss is because I heard ignorant and I thought.  Stupid. 

Ignorance is not stupidity.  It ‘s a hard concept to wrap you r head around.  Stupid is stupid.  You really can not fix it. Without delving too much further into that train of thought  because I am ignorant of the politically correct way to say stupid is just stupid and don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,  I will say that I do believe  it is true that stupid people are also ignorant, but the reverse is not always true.  Ignorant people are not always stupid.  In fact, ignorance as a lifestyle choice can be the sign of a highly intelligent person, take me for example.   Ignorance as I said earlier is my bliss.  I am not at all stupid unless I choose to act like I am.  And acting stupid and actually being stupid are also completely different animals.  It could be argued that it is stupid to act stupid.  I have not had the chance to think that one completely  through.  

 I don’t read or watch the news on a regular basis anymore.  I think the last time I paid attention was when Amy Winehouse died.  I liked her, the hot mess she was.  I even heard that she was bipolar too. 

It isn’t because I don’t care what is going on in the world it’s just that I don’t care too much.  I have my own problems and often getting caught up in the tragedies and worries of others makes them harder than necessary to deal with.  It is a decision of self-preservation more than anything .By choosing ignorance, of the daily happenings in the world, I save myself from worrying that the end is near or something equally as disturbing. Thus, I remain …blissful.  I suppose you could argue that my choice to be ignorant will eventually lead to stupidity and that I will not be able to carry an intelligent conversation of current events but It hasn’t been a problem for me yet so save it.  I do not want to know.

Besides, if something happens that I need to know, my mom will tell me.  Just the other day she made sure my daughter and I were made aware of the latest study on the evils of children watching any kind of tv or similar media before the age of 2. I get perturbed at her need to pop my lovely bubble of chosen ignorance and don’t understand it when clearly the damage is already done.   It makes no sense to me to give me a tv, children’s programming, a chance to  slip away while they are engrossed in Little Einsteins so I can get a little loving while they are none the wiser only to tell me when my youngest is almost 5 that tv stunts their growth or speech or whatever it is they are saying now. And why if tv is so bad do they even have a show called Little Einsteins?  That is just stupid. 

 How is this knowledge going to help me?  It’s too late.  My kids are ruined and it’s all my fault because I did what everybody else did and let them watch tv.  I don’t need to add this kind of guilt and self-flagellation to my daily grind.  In fact since I embraced the ignorance isn’t stupidity – it’s a life choice mantra I have been much less stressed about my poor damaged children.  Ignorance allows me to believe that no matter what they will all be ok. 

All I have left to add is life was happier and simpler without all the things we know about these days.  The saying If I only knew then what I know now is crap.  I think it should be more like if I only knew now just what I knew then.  There are so many more great examples of how choosing ignorance is a benefit but it seems we are out of time.  Sesame Street is on in 5 minutes