Curiosity

 

September 6, 2021

 

Greetings from the exploration,

 I wonder about something, and it leads me to pose questions, and then there might be reading, or asking others their opinion, or perhaps I will search for experiences to help me.  In that process there is in me, as it would be in you as well, a sense of passion, a piece of the most critical essence of being a human.  Sounds dramatic, but I wrote it that way because the word we have given it is too ordinary.  Curiosity.

 I have considered happiness recently, not for the first time.  I wonder at its elements, some as nebulous and elusive as mist, some as mundane as simple habits.  I watch others create their own version of happiness and sometimes am amazed, and other times confounded.  I found that I was curious about happiness and discovered that curiosity in itself can create a version of happiness.  Keep that thought for a moment.

 It has never been easier to be curious, and perhaps it has never been as important as now.   We have the ability to travel and discover, to learn, and even when that is constrained, our access to knowledge is nearly limitless, if we are diligent.  Paired with that is the need, the obligation, for us to better understand our world and each other.  And often what stands in the way of that is the lack of curiosity, or more likely, the suppression of it.

 Some of the people I admire most hold curiosity as an imperative of their life’s philosophies.  They do not all put that to words, but it’s obvious in how they live.  Tinkerers, carpenters, teachers, gardeners, parents, writers, all manner of people.  It is not a coincidence that these people, as different as they are, all have in common a love of the world.

 This week I have read about the purpose of curiosity, how it is inherent in all humans and imperative to our development as people.  It is the desire for knowledge, for understanding.  It is the cause of the advancement of children into adults, and it is at the heart of the progression of our species.  There are complex contributors to curiosity, physical and psychological, but I am convinced it is placed in us by our Creator to guide us toward the best versions of us, and in that process feel happiness.

 Walt Whitman said: “Be curious, not judgmental.”  Four words forming such important counsel, I wish it were tattooed on all of our foreheads.  It is possible for us to better understand each other and perhaps respect one another more if we simply followed Whitman’s charge.  The barriers to this, for example, race, religion, politics, and nowadays science, can be disassembled if we are all willing to give way to curiosity about each other, not simply judge our differences.

 Curiosity, like love, is the near opposite of indifference.  We must recognize that like love it requires humility, the admission that we don’t know everything, and that we are willing to at least consider what is unknown.  What complicates this is the hubris, also built into us, offers me the suggestion that I already know everything I want to know. 

 Several years ago, I took up this subject, curious about curiosity, and in those seven hundred words I lifted the thoughts up and gave them form and felt satisfied, and knew better what I meant by curiosity.  But time passed and even my own words convicted me when I read them last night.  And, no surprise, inspired curiosity.  What I found as I explored my own writing over these last two decades was how often the word ‘curiosity’ led to adventure, to new ideas, to new friendships, to great experiences.  And to happiness.

 Some of our happiness is formed by discovering what we are truly curious about, and then allowing that to shape our choices.  The satisfaction of following that path, of discovering and absorbing what your curiosity uncovers, is living out a passion that was created in humans since the beginning of our existence.  That tells me that this is important; pay attention.

 But curiosity is more than learning about what interests us and brings us joy, it is also the strength we have been given to explore each other as people.  I believe that this is as much a reason for the existence of curiosity as any other. 

 On many Monday mornings I will begin my message to you with only an inkling of where I want to go.  What spurs the rest of it, long or short, is my own curiosity.  What will this thinking lead to?  How will these ideas tumble together to matter in some way?   What follows is something that rarely fails to lead me to happiness.  It is the exploration of a gift, through curiosity, that leads to the joy that waits in all of us.

  That may strike you as a little careless, and perhaps you are disappointed that these essays, such as they are, don’t appear fully formed in my mind before I commit them to words.  My answer is that I trust myself, and the words, to form something of value for me and for you.  I believe in myself, in my gift, and I trust in you as readers.  Not that you will agree with all I write, but that you will be curious enough to look, to think, and perhaps be changed.

 How can we explore our world and each other with this same philosophy?  First to believe in ourselves, to have the confidence to be curious about others, and at the same time, the humility to consider what we don’t know.  We owe it to ourselves, and the humanity we love, to find out.

Curiosity can lead us to the passions we were made for, towards the interests that naturally attract us, and that will form the hours and days of our lives that build a happy existence.  And, the same quality can form a pathway between people, one that can create understanding and empathy and, in small ways and large, a better world.     

 

Hope this finds you curious,

 

David

 

 

 

Copyright © 2021 David Smith