extended metaphor

I used to think that the pond was shallow. That all the complexity and emotional intensity people seemed to think of relationships and social situations and life decisions and tasks of the world were fake, exaggerated, unrelated to my life, and avoidable if I remained a bit more clever than the general population.

Then I stuck my foot in the pond and thought it deeper than I originally speculated. It seemed that I could be hurt when I didn't know how it was possible before. I saw that I had reason to be scared sometimes and that fear is sometimes not all fun and games. I knew how quickly lives can change dramatically, triggered from the smallest and seemingly insignificant factors. It was seen how strongly someone can feel, without even conceptually knowing the reason fully themselves. Also, the impact of life events and epiphanies on mental health and mood was obvious. The direct correlation of action and consequence and acceptance of action is more real than my younger self viewed. Possibilities seemed endless and I was taking precautions to protect my life and everything within and effecting it.

But really, the amount which I stuck in my foot was very close to it's full depth. I judged too soon and assumed it was far more complicated than it was; thinking it to be near the reaches of infinity as space is even as I only had circumstantial and brief evidence. This is not true. With knowing so little, I would be able to get by my entire life being no more stupid than others regarding my decisions and choices. Even though something could be and theoretically is as deep and expanded as space, it does not mean that the people in it are doing anything more complex or differently were they in a farther small place regarding limitations of complexity and reasoning.

Should my mindset be as if the pond is a shallow or deep?: The bottom line is that I could make the best decisions from much consideration of what the world is and how to deal with it and the idiotic people running it, or I could be one of the idiots contributing to it and enjoy the ride. God knows there is so much to learn, and a lot of it is worth knowing and discovering. But should I be hung up on knowing the reason for everything constantly? Nah, I'm just too lazy and it is too stressful. This does not mean I let my life go to shit because I think it does not matter. I care about myself as much as anyone does. I just get tired of going over the logistics of it all, if that makes sense.

Another thing: Having respect for and listening to and taking advice from people who are older than you is a valuable tool. What we are assuming when we do this is that they are you, essentially, but older. Who wouldn't want advice from themselves a few years from now? Would they not tell you how to do things more efficiently and enjoyably? We are also assuming that the world has not changed as much since they were in your situation, and that you will have the same opportunities and feelings.

These things, we can not assume. We can not assume that you are of the same social status and of the same intelligence. We cannot assume that you do not have more self control than they did or that you are psychologically different. We cannot assume that you have the same amount of determination about a specific thing, or have the same priorities and morals. People are different, and people do not want to listen to people who think they know better. Even if they do. And I hate people saying that "You don't understand yet, but you will." Because they don't know that I ever will, and they don't know that I have not yet experienced it and they do not know that I would not fully understand if they were articulate enough to describe it to me. Who cares if you "know"? You learned the hard way, I will too. Everyone does and you can't change that, and I am not going to base my life on the blind faith on something someone said that I either do not think I will be like at that age or that I respect for far different reasons than what they believe about life.

Life views are so vastly different at different stages in life and with different people that you cannot assume people are in the same position. Blanket advice does not work. Blanket advice, no one listens to.