The
important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for
existing. ... Never lose holy curiosity.
Albert
Einstein
I’m a lucky fellow.
I found this quote in a manuscript I was reading. The 82 year-old author
highlighted her sense that we old folks have a special capacity, if we protect
it, to be curious in a distinctive way. This comports with my own sense, and it
excites me, when I catch wind that someone else, aging so magnificently, is
also noticing it. It turns out, that Albert, in his old age, noticed it too.
All of this noticing inspired me to look deeper into, what Albert, in his
wisdom, called holy curiosity.
The notion, that
questions are a lot more valuable than answers (than even knowing), was
introduced to me, years ago, by my partner Xan. She used to say, “there is
nothing so precious as a good question.” I was so full of myself, so full of,
what I thought of as knowing, that it took awhile for me to get the value of
what she was saying. Now, I think I’m getting it. The power of inquiry, of
looking deeply into anything is moderated by the quality of questions one asks.
Understanding this is changing my life.
Along the way, I’m
grasping, that my willingness to experience more of the surprising is growing.
I can’t really say that that growth is at my behest. This is an area where Life
is changing me. Last time I looked, I wasn’t so keen on experiencing things
that didn’t quite match-up with my preconceptions. It wasn’t that I was so
arrogant (OK, maybe I was), it was more like I was just too human, not very
mature, a product of our culture. Anyway, I’ve aged, and been ripened some.
Unbidden, I’m finding a growing desire in my self, to inquire into this
mysterious existence. In my mind, holy curiosity is coming on.
I especially like
the part of this formulation that considers being curious as holy. Most of my
life, I’ve just considered myself (and anyone who seemed like me) nosy.
Einstein is suggesting another possibility. There seems to be some awareness
that curiosity, the restless nature of my interest in getting at whatever is
going on, serves some higher purpose. Wow! Who would have ever guessed being
curious is a spiritual practice!
Suddenly, Life is
turning out to be a mystery, a who-dunnit that features me as a detective. I
like mystery novels, but I’m not sure this is one I would take out of the
library. I know too much already about the protagonist. Or, do I? Maybe the
mystery hinges upon the audaciousness of my curiosity. I have a mixed-mind, a
deep ambivalence, that comes up when I begin to realize, that like it or not,
I’m implicated, and somehow responsible, for what is passing.
Anyway, the sense
that there is something innate in me, that manifests as curiosity, and that is
in the service of anything spiritual, is mind-blowing. I would be curious about how such a thing is
even remotely possible, but I’m too overwhelmed by the notion. Holy shit, holy
curiosity might be a real thing!
In the strange way
my brain-damaged mind works (if, you could call it that), holy curiosity arises
about the time a person realizes they know just enough to know they don’t
really know anything. Then some strange alchemy starts taking place. Not
knowing morphs into holy curiosity. The desire to experience what cannot be
known, takes over. Then the holy shit gets really deep.
Einstein was
obviously curious. He was treated like he was this unusual phenomenon, a
genius, so rare, but in fact I think he was just an ordinary human being. Maybe
he was different because he was so curious, but I don’t think so. I think
curiosity is built-in, a compass that is capable of helping all of us find our
way home. It really is a return instinct.
Like the one the salmon have — if we let it, it’ll help us find our own
spawning ground.
Holy curiosity. It’s
in us. The path home is marked by the desire to learn. I blush at never having
considered this possibility. I also laugh. The real genius is evolution.
Somehow, throughout the many billion years that are involved, this trait
curiosity survives, and calls us deeper back to the enchantment that made us
possible.
There is a school
that develops holy curiosity; it’s called Life. We are right there, right now.
Wow!
