Loving the questions – relationship with our mind. On page
49, I too “want to know everything about everything.” I, as an artist, among
other things am very curious person. I want to know why something is something?
Just because we don’t know the answer right now, does not mean we cannot have
the answer. Why is there just one correct answer? The human mind can come up with an infinite number of answers
to all questions.
If we intended not to ask the question “WHY”, how can we
learn or understand something we don’t already have the answer to? “Why” is the
gift that helps us to understand, or see things in a new light. Asking “Why” has
been one of the things that has helped me to understand many things and why the
world works as it does. I think that its not just children that want to know “why”,
but as adults we want to know “why” too. So, “WHY” goes back to the human
nature of curiosity to understand something.
On page 53, I love “That’s a darn good question – so good that
I want to really think about it for a minute before attempting an answer.” If
we all had this to draw back on and not answer the first thing that came out of
our mouths, each of our imaginations could grow beyond just what was right in
front of us. What if we had someone tell us this and let us, as children, have
an understanding that its okay to ask.
What would we be asking next or what would we create next? On page 53
“trust that to be human is to have natural curiosity and to possess an innate
desire to learn.” We all want to learn and understand the world around us and
the easy way to do that is to ask WHY? Why do I have to give up so much of my
family’s time to get what I want? It’s because I have this growing capacity to let my art reach
out in ways that I could never imagine before, that is why! Why, being the powerful question that it is, is a simple question
to ask. If Einstein had not asked the questions to unlocking the mysteries of
the universe, would we understand the next question in his field of study? No,
it’s a building block that has us asking more questions once we have an answer
to our question. We want to know it all, just in our own time.
When I started on my (MFA) Masters of Fine Art, my professors
were always asking me Why, What, and How within my artwork. These are some of
the most powerful words that anyone can think about. Sometimes we just have to
step back from the problem and let the answer come to us, just don’t fight it. Waiting can help us see the clarity that
we may have our answers for. On page 71 I love “who might you talk to in your
quest for clarity?” The answer for me is everyone. It may take several people for you to find what you are
seeking. So ask everyone in your
quest to find the answer.
Shirley!
ReplyDeleteThe pause you are referring to allows for response, over reaction. I agree with you, that taking a moment can make all the difference in what answer we offer. Our first reaction is often a catalyst for something deeper and if we get into the habit of pausing and moving through that (why am I thinking that? Why am I feeling that ?) there is an opportunity to uncover something meaningful. Not to say all responses are not meaningful, but consciously meaningful.
So, when asking your “why questions “, you say “ It may take several people for you to find what you are seeking.” How do you know when you have found your answer? I agree, talk with as many people as you can. Gather perspectives and sit with each one, piecing things together to form your own idea! It is an art, a closely mirrored process (for me anyway). Curiosity , for me, is about the space between the question, and the yet to be discovered answer. It is in this space all is possible. Its the difference between the known-unknowns and the unknown-unknowns. :)