“Curiosity is our friend that teaches us how to become ourselves. And it’s a very gentle friend and a very forgiving friend, and a very constant one.”
―
In our house, we often remind each other to be curious not judgmental — a line attributed to Walt Whitman and made even more famous by the great contemplative, Ted Lasso.
But it’s more than a mantra, chant, or hymn. It’s a formation. A rule of life. A pulse beating behind the day.
And here’s how curiosity looks to me.
. . .
listening before speaking
opening not closing
trying over shying
feeling above fixing
making through breaking
evolution over perpetuation
sitting before standing
meeting not hiding
hoping through worrying
contemplating before contradicting
coming not leaving
resting between rushing
learning above knowing
noticing not neglecting
loving against hating
reaching not refusing
waiting before rushing
silence over sound
fantasy next to reality
entering not departing
whispering instead of yelling
giving above taking
asking before assuming
bowing not boasting
healing instead of hurting
surrendering over seizing
absorbing not ignoring
praying before complaining
helping over hindering
looking not overlooking
playing beside working
becoming not arriving
. . .
So now I’m curious what curiosity looks like to you?