Be Ignorant, And You’ll Live On Bliss
Are you familiar with the saying “Curiosity killed the cat”? Do you know that this idiom is followed by “But satisfaction brought it back”?
The first time I heard this quote, I was in awe. But when I experienced it from my own perspective, I called it bullshit.
As someone who’s perpetually curious, I’m always fascinated by how things work, both from macro and micro perspectives. I love listening to people’s stories, their life experiences, and the wisdom that they’ve learned.
It was an intoxicating feeling. And I always want it more.
The knowledge I’ve got breeds more and more curiosity.
I want to know why they’ve done that. Why they choose that decision, how they’ve done it, and what’s the impact of their decision in their life.
Most of them felt free. And I crave freedom.
Now this is where everything goes south: I subconsciously programmed my curiosity, my intention to gain knowledge and seek answers, to fulfill my personal desires without realizing it.
It has become malicious intent; I want more of that thrill and rush of dopamine.
The malicious intent then disguised itself as the noble process of gaining knowledge.
Curiosity fueled by personal desire becomes obsession, and if you leave an obsession unchecked, it will eventually corrupt and dismantle all of your reasons and logic out of the window.
And congratulations! Now you’re an addict.
You’re a slave to your own desires. You cannot think, you cannot move, and you’ll only obey what your desires command, be it money, sex, wealth, or power.
The knowledge you seek will come to you sooner or later.
This is why ignorance is bliss. You will never get rid of this destructive, lifelong problem if you are not curious. If you’re never curious, you’re most likely to live in complete bliss from birth to death.
But here’s the question: Would you want it? Life without curiosity?
Humanity evolves from mistakes. It was embedded in our DNA. We’re naturally, primitively, always seeking answers, automatically.
We can’t force our way out of it; we’re doomed to make mistakes.
And mistakes most probably will be made by those who’re addicted to their desires.
I’m not saying we’ve got to become addicted to evolve. On the contrary, we must learn to not become a part of it.
But how, you might say?
I would argue that the answer is the humility and self-awareness that you bring whenever you search for knowledge.
Curiosity and self-awareness must go hand-in-hand. No negotiation, no compromise.
You don’t have self-awareness? Bring someone to watch your back — someone who’ll willingly scream and pull you up whenever that sign of that malicious intent appears.
I learned it in a very hard way.
“Curiosity nearly killed the cat, and an insatiable thirst for satisfaction makes it dead”
Be very careful about what you seek for.
