The walls were lined with stacks of already read magazines and newspapers. Shelves of books stood like silent sentinels to past learning. Her home was a maze of carefully constructed trails among the stacks, shelves, and furniture. To call her a hoarder was to miss the point of her clutter. She collected ideas and accumulated knowledge. Her passion was to understand and piece together the incredible mystery that surrounded her.
Unfortunately, as the years slipped into decades, her passion had begun to fade. She still walked among a clutter of accumulated wisdom, but it no longer fed her mind. It had become the flotsam of a well-lived life but was now sadly neglected and largely forgotten. She no longer pursued new questions, preferring instead to keep re-tracing old, familiar paths. It was not that she believed she had figured out the great mystery. It had simply lost its glitter and she had become captive to her own ideas. Her insights had become musty old clichés. Her curiosity had died out along with her desire to learn and grow. Her ideas had become stale memories that no longer fed her spirit. It would be very easy to pity her. But we must remind ourselves that we are at risk of building a similar labyrinth of ideas and becoming lost in those well-trod trails.
The key that keeps our minds awake and curious is a passion for learning and the ideas and the insights it brings. This passion depends on a steady flow of energy from the deep well of the human will. It depends on wonder and humility to help us keep asking questions. Why? How? Who? What? When? This is the breath of life for someone who wants to learn, grow, discover and re-learn. When we grow tired or reallocate our energy to other areas of our life, the well runs low and we simply cannot be bothered to ask questions any longer. Some may see such questions as distractions from the “real stuff of living.” They may be too busy to stop and ask why. They may stack their ideas along the walls and fill bookcase after bookcase with insights where we can pretend that they are still an important part of their lives. They become slaves to the clichés that have gathered around their beliefs and walk the same paths through the “same-old, same-old” every single day.
Unfortunately, as the years slipped into decades, her passion had begun to fade. She still walked among a clutter of accumulated wisdom, but it no longer fed her mind. It had become the flotsam of a well-lived life but was now sadly neglected and largely forgotten. She no longer pursued new questions, preferring instead to keep re-tracing old, familiar paths. It was not that she believed she had figured out the great mystery. It had simply lost its glitter and she had become captive to her own ideas. Her insights had become musty old clichés. Her curiosity had died out along with her desire to learn and grow. Her ideas had become stale memories that no longer fed her spirit. It would be very easy to pity her. But we must remind ourselves that we are at risk of building a similar labyrinth of ideas and becoming lost in those well-trod trails.
The key that keeps our minds awake and curious is a passion for learning and the ideas and the insights it brings. This passion depends on a steady flow of energy from the deep well of the human will. It depends on wonder and humility to help us keep asking questions. Why? How? Who? What? When? This is the breath of life for someone who wants to learn, grow, discover and re-learn. When we grow tired or reallocate our energy to other areas of our life, the well runs low and we simply cannot be bothered to ask questions any longer. Some may see such questions as distractions from the “real stuff of living.” They may be too busy to stop and ask why. They may stack their ideas along the walls and fill bookcase after bookcase with insights where we can pretend that they are still an important part of their lives. They become slaves to the clichés that have gathered around their beliefs and walk the same paths through the “same-old, same-old” every single day.
TIP - Cultivate Humble Curiosity
The healthy spirit needs to open up the windows of the mind. It needs to ask questions and seek new insights, ideas, and memories.
The tip for this week is to pursue those questions that beg you for an answer. And then chase that rabbit as far as you can. When something catches your mind’s eye, stop and explore the who, what, why, how, and where. For example, on a recent show about Ancient Native Life, I learned that the tribes built their granaries on a cliff, high above the canyon floor. I asked myself “Why did they build them way up there?” I soon learned that they did so to hide their food from raiders. The height also made it difficult for itto be taken and increased their ability to defend them. I learned a lot about how an ancient people lived and something about the human spirit in their story.
Take you mind along on your vacation. Vacations give us the opportunity get outside of our well-trod paths and become humbly curious about our world. They can offer us the opportunity to do so with a purpose beyond just making a living or doing what we have always done. When we develop a curiosity, driven by wonder, we cast aside our preconceptions and allow the world to teach us. We do not have to impress anyone or fulfill other’s expectations. We are able to focus on the wonders that exist just beyond our understanding. This transforms our time into a glorious adventure. Travel becomes an exploration. Museums become teachers. Reading becomes a dialogue with interesting people we will likely never meet. Listening to a podcast, exploring Wikipedia, or searching YouTube becomes a journey into the unknown. Having a real conversation with real people about things that challenge our assumptions and ideas becomes a time of insight and growth.
Humble curiosity can awaken your mind while on vacation. It allows us to rediscover the joy of a learning about ourselves and the world around us. In that rediscovery you will find the flame of passion flickering to life in your soul. The energy will start to flow, and you may even find a door that will lead out of your well-walked paths and into a new world that is more than you ever dreamed.
Happy 4th, my friends.
Blessings,
Bob
The tip for this week is to pursue those questions that beg you for an answer. And then chase that rabbit as far as you can. When something catches your mind’s eye, stop and explore the who, what, why, how, and where. For example, on a recent show about Ancient Native Life, I learned that the tribes built their granaries on a cliff, high above the canyon floor. I asked myself “Why did they build them way up there?” I soon learned that they did so to hide their food from raiders. The height also made it difficult for itto be taken and increased their ability to defend them. I learned a lot about how an ancient people lived and something about the human spirit in their story.
Take you mind along on your vacation. Vacations give us the opportunity get outside of our well-trod paths and become humbly curious about our world. They can offer us the opportunity to do so with a purpose beyond just making a living or doing what we have always done. When we develop a curiosity, driven by wonder, we cast aside our preconceptions and allow the world to teach us. We do not have to impress anyone or fulfill other’s expectations. We are able to focus on the wonders that exist just beyond our understanding. This transforms our time into a glorious adventure. Travel becomes an exploration. Museums become teachers. Reading becomes a dialogue with interesting people we will likely never meet. Listening to a podcast, exploring Wikipedia, or searching YouTube becomes a journey into the unknown. Having a real conversation with real people about things that challenge our assumptions and ideas becomes a time of insight and growth.
Humble curiosity can awaken your mind while on vacation. It allows us to rediscover the joy of a learning about ourselves and the world around us. In that rediscovery you will find the flame of passion flickering to life in your soul. The energy will start to flow, and you may even find a door that will lead out of your well-walked paths and into a new world that is more than you ever dreamed.
Happy 4th, my friends.
Blessings,
Bob
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