Humans can be ignorant sometimes. I do not mean that in a bad way because the word just means ‘lack of information or knowledge’, but the word does tend to have a bad connotation with it. I am ignorant of things. We all are. I don’t get offended when someone tells me I am ignorant because I know I am.
Being offended is a totally different subject I plan to chat about another day.
I would not have a job if my clients I helped didn’t say “I don’t understand all this stuff”. “That’s OK,” I would say, “We all have to be good at something because that is what makes the world go round. ” I would not say that to make them feel better although it does. It’s just the truth. Bringing up ignorance is just…ignorant.
The question is are you really ignorant if you accept that you don’t know something? At least you are open-minded enough to admit it. Maybe this is where the negativity around the word occurs: An ‘ignorant’ person knows they are not aware of said subject at hand, but also knows that (for whatever reason) they have no urge to learn and they feel bad/sad/angry about being close minded about it. Hence the negative connotation.
Essentially they may be offended by the fact that they do not know and can’t seem to be open to the idea of learning. They are offended by themselves…
How is that for irony?
You noticed I typed (for whatever reason)? What is that reason? Why would someone be resistant to learning new things? Studies have proven that the brain thrives on learning new things. Your brain practically depends on it. Novelty and self growth are what keep those wheels up there in your head turning.
But not quite. What about your resistant brain? It is actually trying to protect you. From what, I don’t know and your brain doesn’t know. It just knows it’s job is to protect from ANYTHING new that MIGHT end up hurting you. While ANOTHER part of your brain yearns for new experiences…
Same irony? Different irony….
You should be aware that there are people out there who, despite all facts to the contrary, are not going to do anything more than they have to with their lives because their lives are totally ruled by that looking-for-danger section of their brain. It’s sad but true. This fact makes absolutely no sense but it happens every day, millions of times. If you have to deal with a person like that, this situation can be very frustrating. You just have to move on. If they are a loved one? Good luck.
The main problem? Awareness. How aware can you be of yourself and what goes on inside that noodle of yours? You can very aware, but it may take awhile. This process of awareness starts with education.
But here is the irony again: Your brain is not going to want you to learn this type of enlightening information. There will constantly be a battle going on inside your head. But you have to win this battle if you want anything that you want to happen actually occur. The battle can be won. Some people are better at it than others just like anything else.
I have a good start(I think) and I am aware I have a long way to go so maybe I have just scratched the surface of being aware. Since I don’t know how far the end of the ‘journey of awareness’ is or how it will take me to get there, I cannot really say how long. Or maybe there is no end…
But the most important thing is that I have started. You can too.
Let me know if you need any help. That is what humans are supposed to do for each other.