One of the Big Lies.

Acceptance of this idea implies quite a lot about a person's total outlook on life.

The idea behind the phrase is simply that we can't control what happens around us, so why worry? It's basically saying that, because we cannot better our lot in life, so any knowledge we acquire about our position in this terrible world can only depress us, and could do no possible good.

Even the assumptions even here are terrible. We can't do anything to change the world around us. The knowledge we can painfully acquire is of no use. Supposedly 'rational' decisions have no such basis, and cannot do any real good.

Essentially, this idea states that the only way to be happy is to be ignorant. Some of my more pessimistic friends might agree with that, and say that, indeed, bliss is ignorance. I disagree with that.

The other side of the coin is people who believe that the more we know, the better off we are. Instead of denying that which is before us, we quest for knowledge and understanding in everything, especially ourselves. We believe that the better informed one is, the better the judgements one can make.

There is a real, important difference here. One type of person believes that things happen to her, that everything good or bad that happens to her is dependent on 'luck', or 'karma'. The other type of person believes that she happens to the world, that her actions and thoughts matter. There is a world of difference here.