Ignorance and Happiness

I do not wish to brag, but it has recently come to my attention that I am nothing short of a prodigious genius on the complex subject of ignorance. If you would question my credibility with regard to my expertise on the subject, I assure you that many of my enemies would gladly attest to that fact. However, I digress. This evening, my topic of discussion would be on, of course, ignorance, juxtaposed with the elusive topic of happiness. Thus, it is with great pleasure that I present to you.

Ignorance and Happiness.

Ignorance is a gift, a blessing bestowed upon those free from the yoke of burdensome knowledge. The time-tested adage of “ignorance is bliss” recurs repeatedly in the annals of history. When the great Qin Shih Huang Di withheld knowledge and culled the most knowledgeable under his reign, China not only experienced the longest lasting peace, but the unification of all under the sky. Even the bard himself, bestows the greatest wisdom to his fools. To all, he expounds illogic and speaks nonsense, but in his nonsense, the truths of the world are entwined in his words. And after all, the fool is most often the one who lives on where all others are dead. And to the ignorant, life is the ultimate bliss.

I continually strive to attain the state of ignorant nirvana, as many of my friends claim, however it seems that my path to enlightenment is continually burdened by the evils of knowledge. It is as though the fruit of the tree of knowledge from the Garden of Eden continually lies in my path, tempting me to walk on the side of darkness. But I resist that temptation every waking moment. From the lectures in school, to the news blaring from them coloured screens, I maintain my meditative state of ignorant nirvana. But alas, I am not blessed with the intellect of a fruitfly, and knowledge worms its way into my mind, clouding my thoughts. Forgive me oh Apasmara, I am not strong enough to live by your teachings. I envy those blessed with the light of ignorance, who can live each day with a smile on their face and a lilt in their walk.

They are free from the yoke of currency. Of which they need not earn any, and are free to roam the lands foraging for sustenance, after which shelter could be sought, or built in a short amount of time, compared to a mortgage of 30 years.

They are free from the yoke of fashion and modesty. They are free to gallivant in what nature has provided them. Skin and hair, without the need to exchange currency for a less than proportionate amount of fabric with strange designs which somehow represent the inner psyche and character of the person adorning said garments.

They are free from the yoke of religion. An evangelist once told a tribal chieftain of the good news. The tribal chieftain sought clarification and understood that once the evangelist told the tribal chieftain of Jesus Christ, believers would be granted passage to eternal bliss, while non-believers will be sent to eternal torment. The tribal chieftain then questioned the evangelist of the purpose of the information he had just been imparted. The ignorant would be granted eternal bliss, for they did not know better. I wish I did not know.

They are free from laws and rules as they have not the intellectual capabilities to fathom the bizarre systems that run our flawed society. They rule supreme in the fabricated reality of their mind’s eye. The shield of ignorance protects all who would embrace its glory. It wraps you lovingly in its arms and tells you that everything will be okay.

A tribesman was living in his hut, when he was visited by a city boy. The city boy said unto him, “you have no TV, you are poor”. The tribesman knew not what the city boy had spake. But the evil tendrils of knowledge had wormed their way through his mind, and he knew that he lacked something the city boy had. Armed with that limited knowledge, he went to the city, and exchanged services for currency. And with that currency, he fed, clothed and found accommodation for himself. But he never felt happy, as he had not enough to eat, and accommodation was small. Now the evils of knowledge had a firm clasp on the tribesman. He knew that he had to exchange more services for more currency to be “rich”. He had turned his back on ignorance and happiness, and embraced the evils of knowledge, cursed to run within the rat race, to purchase things he neither needs nor wants, to attain this arbitrary idea of “richness”.

It is too late for me to embrace the teachings of the ignorant, as I have been afflicted by the plague of knowledge. But I pray that those who have not fallen prey to the evils of knowledge would still be able to walk the path of light and attain ignorant nirvana. Blessed is he who comes in the name of ignorance, from the house of the ignorant we bless you. Save yourself, for I have fallen too far to be saved.