Learn in Bliss
MYLENE L. AMBROCIO
Knowledge is power, and ignorance is bliss. Does this mean that the powerful can’t be happy? It just very well may. Let’s face the facts: The world isn’t all rainbows and unicorns, and life isn’t a walk in the park. Crimes are being committed every minute of every day. Even our very own lives are filled with painful memories and awful situations. Thus, without knowledge, where would we be? Obviously, those with more information are almost always on top. Without information and knowledge, you can’t get ahead in life.
Our capacity to understand, store and process knowledge on such a complex level is what differentiates us from the remainder of the animal kingdom. Our brains make us superior; it is an adaptation that we have developed to not just survive but to flourish. We are born to think and to innovate. Choosing to remain ignorant so that we can be happy is definitely against our human nature. The only question is whether or not being more educated is really better.
Without knowledge, we cannot make progress. Learning isn’t always easy, either, because it requires time and effort. We all have goals and dreams. Our largest life goals require a whole lot of experience and thus, a whole lot of time and knowledge. In order to get what we want, we have to act; we need to do something. We need to study – go to school, and take in all the possible information that we may put to use.
Life doesn’t filter what it teaches and how information affects us, but if we are meant to come across knowledge that destroys our ignorance. The more we live, the more we experience, the more we learn, the more knowledge we attain and the more we change as a result. It’s a process that can’t be stopped, only slowed. I personally suggest that we enjoy education and do whatever we can to stop being ignorant about things around us. It is true that what you don’t know can’t hurt you, but it is just as true that in a fastpaced world where we belong, what you know can save you from pain and disappointment. Sometimes not knowing makes us happy (e.g. not knowing that the test is due tomorrow), but it also brings us failures in our lives (e.g. because we didn’t know about the exam, we didn’t get a passing score because we didn’t review). So it is very important that we ask, we remember, and we assure ourselves that what we know is enough for us to prosper. It is always best to be ready. The secret lies in choosing which knowledge you focus on and expand upon, and which one you ignore. We can’t choose what experiences life throws to us, but since it is in our nature as human beings to learn, we do get to choose to learn in bliss – to find happiness in acquiring knowledge and in embracing our natural instinct to learn, unlearn, and relearn things.