The Power of Curiosity

Alan Watts’ full quote is: By replacing fear of the unknown with curiosity we open ourselves up to an infinite stream of possibility. We can let fear rule our lives or we can become childlike with curiosity, pushing our boundaries, leaping out of our comfort zones, and accepting what life puts before us.

One of the biggest challenges we face as adults who work with youth or as parents is to help students or our children remain curious through adolescence and young adulthood. So often within schools, questioning about the unknown or wondering why things are the way they are becomes sublimated to assuring students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to successfully matriculate to the next level of school. Unfortunately, in many schools, there is not enough time to entertain an “I wonder why” question from a student. Yet it is at these times when curiosity is fed, encouraged to grow, where students might begin to lose the fear of the unknown as it is deconstructed.

 

We live in a world these days where fearing the other is the norm - fear of the other religion, fear of the other who doesn’t look like me, fear of the other in countries unlike our own, fear of the other political party. Let us partner as teachers and parents to do our best in assuring your daughters do not fear the other, that they continue to see the endless possibilities when differences abound and they learn to embrace their curious selves, having the courage to always ask the question not only to learn, but to also hold those around them to task by asking “why.”

 

As author Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote, There is so much in the world for us all if we only have the eyes to see it, and the heart to love it, and the hand to gather it to ourselves.

Let us work together now in order to empower your daughters to keep their eyes, hands, and hearts open to new possibilities as they journey to adulthood.

 

As always, wishing you the best,

Sandra