ignorance, blissful ignorance

Don't let the post title fool you, I'm not directing the "ignorance" part to the kiddos. That'd be all derogatory and mean. If they don't know something it's because we haven't taught it to them yet. Nay, I am directing the wish for ignorance towards me.

You know how kids don't know a lot? It's true. Look it up. How great would it be if we were oblivious to many things in the world as well? And I'm not talking war, famine, lack of sleep...nope, I'm talking about that nagging feeling in the back of your mind saying "you should of been more" or "you could be doing better." More of what? Better how?

See, these pesky yearnings for something just outside our physical - and monetary - grasps, bug me. They exist everywhere. But why? Kids don't see beyond what they have right in front of them. They are typically content with their own personal material possessions, aside from the fact that they want a new toy time and again. But that's not because it will fill some sort of emptiness in their lives and they think that "stuff" will, well, stuff that hole...no, they just want a new toy. I mean, Tickle Me Elmo was cool and all, but Tickle Me Elmo 2 is coming out, so...come on.

Where and when did we start looking outside our little boxes and not caring so much for what we already have, but for the things out there in space that we will probably never get? The wish for ignorance now comes into play. What if we didn't know some people have millions of dollars laying around to buy fancy cars, boats and summer homes in the Hamptons with Sonic ice machines? What if TV and magazines didn't tell us that in order to be successful we had to follow a certain path of greed and materialism? What if we were simply ignorant of all those things, only knowing about what's right directly in front of us? Like a kid. Unaware of things beyond our reach...

For me, anyway, that'd be pretty awesome. And I'm not saying don't try to be all you can be and whatnot, but don't let that trying take over your life. The Dark Side will consume you.