Recommitting to curiosity

Source: Youtube, Let Curiosity Lead | Yara Shadhidi | TED

Today, I am grateful for Yara Shahidi's wisdom. I came across this video a few months ago, when my job and life and mind felt like they were under a constant barrage of change and turbulence. It was exhausting. It sometimes still is. This video was timely.

Listening to Shahidi's TED talk reminded me that our curiosities are not a distraction but rather a refuge, a break, and - most importantly - a representation of our own agency.

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"Too often, dreaming is relegated to the Academy and Silicon Valley and to all of these exclusive institutions when it is, in fact, the daily curiosities of every one of us that holds the post potential for rupture."

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Pursuing our daily curiosities is a choice within our control. Taking a purposeful step towards the things that make us wonder "What?" and "How?" and "Why?" demonstrates that we are not objects or victims at the mercy of the world's uncontrollable events. Rather, we are participants in creating the homes, communities, countries, and world we want to live in.

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"Now, if it isn't clear, do you know what the biproduct of curiosity is?...

Possibility.

...surprise!"

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Yara's talk reminded me of something else I needed to hear - leaning into our daily curiosities is not only self-serving. Leaning into curiosity is part of imagining a better world for ourselves and our fellow humans. When we imagine other possibilities, we are not only thinking about our person. We are embracing multitude. We are looking past the limits of what we're told the world is.

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"I was searching for an and but I kept being presented an either/or."

"...to know about myself and my place in the the world"

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Don't just be curious to yourself. Exchange thoughts and ideas with one another. Let wonder grow together.

There is no denying that in the past few months we have felt the impact of rapid change. The word "uncertainty" is more prominent in our daily vocabulary (again). If you are like me, you've felt the impact of uncertainty in your own mind & body. If you're like me, you're looking for ways to ground yourself by doing something.

Yara reminds us that being curious IS doing something. When asking questions like "so what now?", "what do I do?", and "what's next?" look past the either/or options being presented to you. Imagine more and do something that moves you closer to other possibilities.

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"Please join me in recommitting to curiosity, because honoring your so-called 'distractions' is an act of creating."

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Wondering and creating is not just a hobby, it is our responsibility. We can't just say "nope. this isn't it." If we want to see change, we must also ask "...so what else is there?" and "what role do I play?"

In creating, we can find community, imagine a world that serves us all, and begin to shape it.

"Refuse to let your world get smaller and let's build new futures together."

Update Me - what are you curious about lately?