Ignorance or Selfessness?

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Ignorance is bliss, so the saying goes.

When I first met my partner in 2019, she had very real plans to move to India in the following year. For months she had been saving to volunteer at an orphanage in Goa. It’s a statement of her giving nature and philanthropic desires, as well as a window into what drives her as a human being. Only the encroaching pandemic and her partiality for my company kept her here.

Now I feel the itch as well, the passion to act out of care and take the leap; the experience of a new culture with the pleasure of serving a well-intentioned cause. Helping others feels good. It’s known to induce a rich, bountiful energy and is, undeniably, the morally sound approach to life.

While it may seem crass or foolish to even suggest an alternative approach to life, the reality of ever-problematic, harsh and chaotic modern societies (particularly in more westernised cultures) has lead many to seek refuge elsewhere and escape to more comfortable and pleasurable areas of the world, turning their back on the life and society they knew.

The irony is that once settled into this new, more self-serving way of life, many people become more gracious and more empathetic, simply because they are happier and more content within themselves. They can be forgiven for seeking such a life when that in essence is all we crave.

Despite these pure and fairly modest desires, humans are, by and large, the most dangerous species on the planet. As we wade through the troublesome waters of modern life we are told with an unrelenting insistence of the global issues we both cause and face, both in the present day and in the future. It’s no wonder that some seek to turn a blind eye to this reality, how else might they seek inner peace?

Ultimately, this is when a fork in the road appears and ambivalence ensues. Do we take action? Do we help in what way we can? Do we ensure a better tomorrow by serving today? Or do we cut out, switch off and run? Protect our own time, interests and well-being while we still have them.

Of course, it isn’t really ever that black and white. Is it, curious reader?

So I pose a solution. Choose something of both. Turn your back on those elements that bring you torment and open your arms to good, honest change. Make small steps that safeguard you from unnecessary realities and dedicate your time to worthy, achievable causes that set your soul on fire. Make time for yourself so you can give more to others.

Ignorance is bliss, so the saying goes. But is it all it’s cracked up to be?