And you are appraising the perceived consequences with more value than what is rational. You are giving your fears more credence than is necessary. What do you think happens when you avoid certain fearful or uncomfortable situations, emotions, or sensations? You are actually evaluating the situation, emotion, or sensation with more meaning than what it deserves. The truth is that fear and avoidance of awareness actually creates anxiety. Ultimately, knowledge IS power! And you have the power to be aware and make improvements when necessary. Better yet, if you have the awareness and take appropriate action to reduce the potential risks, then you are eliminating worry and anxiety. If your awareness and action (or lack of) contradict, then you are not doing what it takes to minimize anxiety and suffering. If you are mindful and acknowledging of your excuses and their potential consequences, then you have taken attempted action to minimize experiencing anxiety. We have made up excuses to avoid taking action – “But I have no time” or “This small dessert won’t really hurt me”. Although this awareness may trigger anxiety and guilt for some of you, for others, learning what constitutes healthy food and exercise gives you direction to take appropriate action.Īwareness without appropriate action creates anxiety, which we have all been guilty of at one point or another. We all know that healthy foods + exercise = healthy lives. However, you will also have the awareness to take appropriate action when necessary to minimize potential harm. You will experience discomfort and anxiety because you are mindful of the limitations that exist. You will know reality for what it truly is, which may trigger worry and fear. On the other hand, living in awareness will inform you of all the sufferings in the world. Thus, ignorance may be more harmful than blissful. They do not have the awareness until they experience the limitations of reality. Toddlers who have yet to experience a burning stove will not know that touching it will hurt. In other words, they are innocent yet ignorant. They are blank slates with very few experiences of their environments. However, this also means that you won’t be aware of all the potential dangers that may harm you. In essence, you would be fearless, because you won’t know any better. You can avoid experiencing worry and anxiety. You won’t have to know reality for what it truly is. Living in ignorance may protect you from much of the ugliness of the world. What would you have chosen? To live in eternal ignorance or in constant awareness? Let’s weigh the pros and cons. If you are one of the millions of people who have seen the Matrix, then you would remember that Neo was given a choice to take either the red pill – which would open his eyes to reality, or the blue pill – which would keep him living behind rose-colored lenses.

Blue pill or red pill matrix