There is a difference in not knowing about something because you are genuinely uninterested and not knowing because you are scared to know. We all have areas in our life where we like to have our head in the sand for fear of knowing too much. But surely there are some things that it is better to know about than not and that knowledge becomes power. Today, I have chosen five areas where it seems that having knowledge outweighs the benefits of being ignorant.
1. You are going to pass into the next life. Your time on here is finite and being conscious of your death will actually help you to know how you want to live. If you are willing to really grasp that time passes and you want to have very few regrets, then it makes sense to live your life with the end in mind. This makes it clear what your priorities are. It will help you to actively take steps to fulfilling yourself, rather than procrastinate, to treat other people with respect, to give more to your loved ones, to let go of petty arguments quickly, to do business more honorably and to know how you would like to make a difference and leave your mark.
2. How your body functions. You have a body that is housing you through this lifetime and most people are unaware of how it actually functions and on what. If you imagine you body to be like a car and the quality of the fuel that you put in, is what you will get out of it. So the more nutrients, the more natural the food, the longer your body will stay healthy and be your friend. If you treat it well, it will treat you well. It is no good eating food full of man-made additives and no nutritional benefit and being blissfully unaware, as it will catch up with you later on. Each time you put food in your mouth, ask if it is going to help your body function to the best of it's capacity or not. Why would you put in fuel that doesn't work? It's like putting lemonade in to a car engine.
3. Be Your Own Doctor. Listen to doctors but also be aware that you need to be your own as well. There is a time for Western medicine and a time to heal yourself. Be discerning about which is which. If you are prescribed something, know what is in it and what you're putting in your body. Find out what the alternatives are, whether it would be safe to do it naturally, or if you could mix Western with Eastern medicine. Perhaps the natural way may take longer, but give you the same result. Then, with all the facts, make a conscious choice, based on knowledge which way or combination of ways are right for you.
4. Be aware of what is happening around the world. It seems to be very hard to get succinct round the world news in certain parts of America and because of that there is an easy excuse to not know what's going on anywhere else apart from in your own country. But it is important to know what is going on on your planet, so you get a sense of being part of a whole. Maybe that means that you read an international newspaper as well as one that is specializes on your home turf. The world is a huge place with billions of people and we are all connected.
5. What you spend your money on. Many people are scared of money for fear of not having enough of it. But, if you look at it, it is really just a bartering system and a way to put food on the table and live a certain life style. If you are fully aware of how much you make, what exactly you spend your money on and your budget, then those first steps can help you to have a handle on your money, rather than it have a hold on you. In the same way, to know what your bank charges you to have an account, to know what your insurances actually cover you for and what services you actually need on your phone is all useful knowledge. In order to move to a new financial level it is important to know where you stand now and what it might take you to get where you want to go. These conscious first steps will also hopefully help curtail any over spending and using other people's money to live.
That's it for this week. If you want to contact me please do e-mail me at sophie@howhappyis.com.