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Staying Curious: Keeping an Open Mind for Discovery

 

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I am a naturally curious person.  I think all people are born that way.  Certainly much to a parent's frustration toddlers ask an awful lot of why questions.  Wanting to know something just for the sake of knowing the answer is something we embrace as small children but see far less frequently in adults.  I enjoy learning new things though I have never been big on book learning.  Knowledge just for the curiosity of finding an answer is appealing to me though sadly I probably only remember a fraction of the things I learn each day.


Magnolia Bloom Photo

In my last post, I talked about asking someone if they could identify a tree because I was admiring the flowers and received an elaborate answer as the gentleman enjoyed sharing his knowledge with me.  There have been many times that I will wonder aloud about something to a companion and might be overheard.  Several years ago I was visiting an area where lightning storms were very common and I verified with my daughter that the tall spikes on the building were lightning rods.  I then began to wonder aloud.  How much taller than the building do they have to be?  Where does the electricity go when it hits the rod?  My daughter didn't know and was probably thinking just Google it but a kind man from Alabama overheard and talked about how the rod works, why they are installed, and knew what happened to the electricity.  He enjoyed sharing his knowledge about something that likely seemed obvious to him but coming from the Arizona desert, all I could do was wonder about something I had not seen in person before.  



Google Logo

I will say that I am old enough to have gone through childhood without the ability to just Google something so that option is honestly never my first reaction when a mental musing leaps from my mind to my lips.  I was raised to believe that the only dumb question is the one not asked though I am sure several people who have overheard my questions and certainly my immediate family would likely disagree.  My feelings are that some questions just don't lend themselves to an all-out Google search anyway.  During quarantine, I was playing BINGO over the phone with my grandma.  I asked her why the numbers were not in order in each column as they would be easier for me to find.  It was only partly a serious question as it was more like a "wouldn't it be easier if" sort of question.  As soon as I heard her laughter I knew not only my answer but also knew that by verbalizing the thoughts in my head I unintentionally gave us both much-needed laughs and smiles.


Outside Ant Hill

Sometimes I am not even looking for an answer but just want to imagine a reason for something.  Like the time my pest control guy was talking about ants and what I could expect if we would get rain in the desert.  I then asked him what the ants actually do in their nest when it rains.  He just laughed and said don't know.  Not a curious mind and that is alright but in my mind I imagined them sitting around relaxing and listening for the rain to stop. Perhaps the ants think it is cozy or perhaps rain means more work as they try to keep their tunnels dry.   I don't know but it is fun to imagine.


All the why questions of childhood have given way to the why, what, I wonder, and how questions of today.  Always questioning and discovering new things about the world makes life interesting to me.  Being curious has allowed me endless conversations with family friends and even strangers.  Each person sharing their knowledge or perhaps a laugh over my observations and questions.  I don't mind the eye rolls of my children or the quizzical looks of others when I ask a question.  There are many out there who are just as curious or thrilled to share something that they know but others do not.  So for any other curious minds out there, never apologize for the questions and continue uttering sentences that start with "I wonder".




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