---

When I think about the “N” word, Naivety, I get a little pissed off. In my young adulthood (which lasted well into my ‘old’ adulthood), I would always get embarrassed when I thought about the times that I’d been naïve.

I’m pretty sure there have been MANY of those times, because my naivety existed longer than a lot of people my age – even though I did a pretty fair job at pretending (or actually believing) that I knew it all.

My illustration depicts – spot on – what naivety looks and feels like to me. Maybe another word for it is blind faith. Sitting in the middle of the lion’s mouth (or whatever beast that is) and believing that it’s a safe place. Believing that people are… “good.” When I say it like that, I actually sound kind of cynical, but then again – doesn’t that make sense? Because isn’t naivety sort of the opposite of cynical?

The definitions I found of naivety were: “lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement,” and “innocence or unsophistication.” So… when you’re naïve, you lack discernment. You walk right into trouble, or danger, because you lack experience and wisdom, and you have this naïve belief that everyone (or everything) is… “good.”

Cynical, on the other hand, is “believing that people are motivated purely by self-interest” and “distrustful of human sincerity or integrity.” Couldn’t you say that people become cynical because too many assholes took advantage of their naivety!?

That’s why I get mad. Naivety gets a bad rap. But when you think about it… it’s actually no different than the innocence of a child. Something that many people strive for, because with that comes real joy and creativity.

So… I think the lesson I’ve found in my thoughts tonight is that naivety is not something to be embarrassed about. If anyone should be embarrassed, it is the lions (or the beasts) who took it away.

That’s my two cents anyway.

Thank you for reading!

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts, or my illustration, and I’ll see you again soon for the letter “O.”

Peace & Love!