I was talking with a friend who is going to be doing a little traveling in the coming months and we were talking about how they were looking to fill some time in between friends they had committed to visit and got to talking about what we didn't learn in history class over the years about US history and different parts of the US, possibly because it's not where we lived during history class. Of course some of this learning was done before computers or before the internet was the resource of information that it is today which is a huge difference between not only education today but also our ability to say "I don't know."

As I've shared many times before I don't believe it's necessary to know everything or be everything to everyone, but when with a few clicks of the mouse or pushing of a few keys you can get answers to questions like if a product is simply out of stock or is discontinued, how to do a cooking technique (rather than limiting your food choices), what a world leader or legendary transformative figure is doing now, what a word means, or skill lessons to improve your chances of getting hired, why wouldn't you? If there's a major event or conflict or leadership change happening somewhere in your area, your country or the world, why wouldn't you take a minute and do a quick internet search to find some answers so that you're aware of what's going on and who's involved?

Does it matter if you've got an awareness and working knowledge on what's going on around the world and in your area? Yes, I think it does. Just like we've seen over the last two years with the pandemic, it's more likely that many or all parts of the world will be affected by something than an event or change will be isolated to affect only one area because we're truly a global world now, not a world made up of different and separate countries; we're all connected. Again, I don't think we need to be experts or be able to write books or create lectures on every topic, but we should have knowledge of what's going on because it's so easy to become informed.

Encourage your kids to search for answers to their questions, do your own searches, commit to exploring our world and learning about the world that we all share and don't pretend that something won't affect you or someone you love in some way. 'Ignorance is bliss' is a well-known statement, and while you may experience bliss for a time because you don't know something, it's better to be informed before something upends your world than trying to play catch-up while also dealing with the changes and potential fallout. How do you stay informed about what's going on in the world and in your work industries?

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