I find that for most people, “ignorance” is a dirty word. That’s a shame.First, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with not knowing something. Not only is it not wrong, it’s unavoidable. Do the math and you’ll see that it’s true. The earth has a human population of over 8 billion people, almost all of which you and I do not know. That’s 8 billion lifetimes filled with thoughts and feelings and experiences and perspectives that you and I will simply never know. The earth has a surface area of one hundred ninety seven million square miles, most of which you and I have never visited. The earth has 4.5 billion years of history, of which you and I have experienced just the last few moments. And all of that, everything that is the everything we have ever known, makes up a meager .0003% of just our own solar system, let alone the unfathomable depths of our galaxy in which our solar system is but a speck, and the impossibly large universe in which our galaxy is but a speck.The point is simple. We are ignorant. Of all there is to know, practically speaking we know nothing, we’ve seen nothing, we’ve done nothing.But that’s ok. In my opinion—and it’s just my opinion, cuz what do I know—the only thing we really need to know is just how much we don’t know. The only thing we can’t afford to be ignorant of is our ignorance.According to Websters the opposite of ignorance is knowledge. That may be technically true but with our ignorance being so vast it’s hard to imagine any amount of knowledge ever tipping the scales. So if ignorance really has an opposite it’s not knowledge … it’s arrogance.Isn’t that what we really mean when we call someone ignorant. We’re not upset that they don’t know something. We’re upset that they’re acting as if they did. In the practical world, arrogance is the opposite of ignorance, which is why, instead of being ashamed of our ignorance, I wish we would embrace it, celebrate it, and use it to make the world a better place.Ignorance is humbling, which is exactly what makes it so powerful. Think of what might be possible if we all assumed we didn’t have all the answers. If we walked out into the world each day open to new learning, open to new ideas, open to new experiences, new perspectives, new people.My own ignorance has become one of the guiding principals of my life. It is an absolutely true statement to confess that I don’t know much of anything, but I want to. I want to know more. I want to understand more. I want to be more. I know enough now to know that whatever I end up knowing it won’t make even a dent in my ignorance. So no matter how much so-called “mastery” I may attain there will never be room or cause for arrogance. What my ignorance will do and does do is make me a better person for trying. When I accept my ignorance I learn more. I listen better. I look deeper. I wait more patiently. I judge less and embrace more.But that’s just me. What do I know? Not much. I only know that I have a lot to learn. And that truth has served me more than any dogmatism ever could. I know that I don’t know much, and that has become a wonderful foundation upon which I am building myself a beautiful life.