Ignorance is bliss. Is it really? If you think that, like an ostrich, that you can stick your head in the sand and pretend that issues are not there, then maybe ignorance is bliss. If you close your eyes, do the issues go away? Maybe you just don’t want to see what is in front of you to be seen? Your challenge last week was to evaluate your own ignorance and the collective ignorance of the circles you travel in. What did that reveal? Did you dwell on the concept of Ignorance and why it is that Dicken’s warns us of it posing an existential threat to us? I have read “A problem well defined is half solved.” Following that logic, a problem we are ignorant of can’t be well defined. Perhaps, ignorance is the medium that allows our fears and insecurities to fester and grow? If you are not part of the solution, does being ignorant make you part of the problem? Don’t be so quick to say, no.

This Week’s Talk

I have often wondered why it is that Dickens has the ghost of Christmas yet to come be silent, and not speak. Scrooge at this point of the story seems motivated to change, at least for the moment, if not permanently.  What does a silent ghost have to tell us? Could it be because the future is not yet written?  Scrooge tells the third spirit, “ I fear you more than any spectre I have seen.”  That in itself is a most interesting line.  Do any of us “fear” the past? Probably not. We may be embarrassed by it, ashamed of it, disappointed in it, proud of it, or it could even be seen as our glory days, but I doubt many of us fear the past. What is done is done, right? Today, now, is what it is. I think we all have some general sense of security knowing the present. Like it or not, it is known and defined. The future could become almost anything. Good or bad.  It seems to be a basic human nature to fear the unknown.  Maybe that is what Dickens is trying to relay. We can make promises with the future but what will really happen? That we cannot be certain of.  We all at some point fear the future. Distant future or maybe even tomorrow. We have all had these deals we make where we think…. If I get out of this, I will never do that again… or If I get out of this, I will be sure to do X,Y,Z to help so and so, I will stop drinking, stop gambling…  Did you uphold your end of the bargain you sought? We try to avoid the perils of an unknown or scary tomorrow.  

This Week’s Assignment

Fear of the unknown, fear of uncertainty, fear of losing what we have by trying to obtain a better tomorrow.  Have you ever made an investment of some kind, purchased a stock, loaned someone money, bought supplies… as a way to make money only to have it turn into a loss? Did you criticize yourself for trying to make things better? Did you tell yourself you knew this was a risk and you shouldn’t have done it?

For this week, I ask you to think about how much you crave security. Reflect on if this is holding you back? Are you more driven to secure what you already have or already are, or are you willing to “pay the price” today for a better tomorrow? What examples do you have in your life to substantiate your perspective on this? Think about how this relates to Scrooge and his journey to becoming a better human? Maybe having to face the future means having to face the consequences of our past and our present, and that is what we fear.

See you next week…