WHAT I KNOW

What do I know?  Not much.  I'm told, though, that by knowing that I don't know much I already know more than the average person who thinks he knows much but doesn't really.  I'm also told that the world's body of knowledge is growing so fast that I actually know a smaller percentage of it every day that passes.  This, of course, means that I am growing duller by the moment.  And you are too.

Depressing isn't it?

Well, not really.  Not for me anyway.  What little ego I have left is not particularly wrapped up in how smart I am.  Little Ego, by the way, would be a good name for a rapper.  No, if anything, my ego - defined as self awareness - is content these days to be just, well, content.  And I am that.  Oh sure, I still strive to be smarter.  I read prodigiously, I study Spanish, I listen better than I used to, and I pay attention.  Still, as I have noted, I'm losing ground every day.  Better to be aware, as the Buddhists say, that what is IS, and go with it.  Don't worry, be happy the Dali Lama said in the guise of Jamaican Reggae singer awhile back.  That was during the Dali's pot smoking days for sure, but it still holds true if you ask me.  It might even hold true if you don't ask me, but I can't be certain.  As I said, I'm not that smart.

One thing I've learned that might be true is that there is a difference between Ego and Self Esteem.  Ego, I'm told, is the driving force for everything one does, good, bad, or indifferent.  Self Esteem, on the other hand, is the underlying opinion of those actions.  It is possible, therefore to have a big Ego and low Self Esteem. Ego is the huge facade one displays - I'm bright, I'm successful, I'm great, I'm pretty/handsome, love me, love me love me - while behind the scenes low Self Esteem is saying, "I know the truth." Curious isn't it?  I mean, if this is, in fact, true and it rings so to me.  

(When I say, "I'm told," what I mean is that it is information that I have acquired from more than one source such as books, magazines, newspapers, television, word-of-mouth, etc.  When the info is just from one person I'll put it in quotes or paraphrase.)

Of course a lot of what one "knows" is really just acquired opinion from the information available.  That being said I am now going to tell you straight out what I know.

NFL replacement refs suck.