Walking Around, Astonished

I love curiosity. Curiosity goads the depressed out of bed, the bored off the coach, and the apathetic into the world.

May we never cease wondering about things. May we never stop asking ask why and how.

May we never stop thinking about more than what we normally think about.

I love so many things about my husband, but one thing I really love is his curiosity. Life is always an adventure for us; there's just so much to wonder about and explore.

Before most of my classes begin--before the formal teaching of semicolons and vivid verbs--I like to find out what students are wondering about. I like to share something I've been wondering about, too. Maybe I've encountered a curious new verb somewhere. Maybe I've read a new neuroscience study. Maybe I've identified a new bird in the wild.

If a student says, "Nothing really. I'm not curious about anything really," then I know what to do. I astonish them with something amazing from nature: the mimic octopus or amazing photos of beautiful things in nature.  I might ask about something elusive or ineffable like intuition or deja vu.

So much of teaching, parenting, friendship, and even our relationship with God is about having a curious heart. I want to always keep wondering. I want to walk around, astonished.