Curiosity is the Engine of Creation

 

My mother told me that when I was very young I asked more questions than even the most precocious of toddlers. "Why? What? When?" and my favorite apparently was "How?" I wanted to know how things worked in the physical and emotional world.

That curiosity led to studying cultures in college with a degree in Anthropology. And, I would say, it led me into ministry. I am forever curious as to how our universe came into being and how it will come to an end. 

Curiosity is the engine of creativity. When we are curious we open ourselves up to the possibilities of new ideals. Asking questions is not only interesting but it could be a spiritual practice. When we ask questions we open ourselves up to new ideas and new ways of thinking. 

One of my favorite questions to ask a newcomer to our congregation is "What brought you here?" I am amazed and often humbled by the responses I get. Most people who cross our threshold are coming to us because of a change or need in their lives. We would do well to ask that of one another and listen in holy silence to the answer.

Of course, there are those who are incurious, especially if they are experts in some field. This has led to a great deal of stagnation from the intolerance of the Middle Ages to assuming that our place in white supremacy culture is the norm of what could be.

I thou

 

I – Thou

Some of my deepest learnings have been on store checkout lines. In that moment of waiting for the cashier I have seen the best and worst of humanity. I remember the mother who was so exasperated with her life that when her three year old began to cry about not getting a candy bar, just snapped and yelled at her child to just “shut up”. Everyone turned and gave her a judging look. She was embarrassed and humiliated which just made her already difficult life all the more difficult. I did my best to not judge her in that moment – although it wasn’t easy – and to recite silently the loving kindness mantra, “May you find loving kindness”. As soon as she was at the register I made funny faces at her child who eventually smiled.

It is so hard not to treat people as obstacles in our way, so hard to see them as people going through their lives with many of the same struggles and joys we do. One cashier in particular seemed unusually hostile to me and others. At first I tried to ignore her comments,  hoping to just get through the line without incident and get on with my day. When it was my turn, I said almost nothing to her, completed the transaction and went on my way. On the way home I remembered what the great Jewish theologian Martin Buber once taught. The most essential relationship we can have is with another as a person, to treat another as God would treat us, as a “Thou”. The essence of our humanity is to treat another not as a means to an end – an “It” – but rather as another end in and of herself.  In other words to move from an “I-It” relationship to an “I-Thou” relationship. For Buber, remembering to see others as the “Thou” relating to me as the “I”, reminds us of what essentially makes us the same, and therefore holy.

So next time you are in a store line and feeling annoyed at how long this is taking, remember that there are others – Thous – who are doing the best they can with the life they have been given. Afford them a quiet respect for what you don’t know about their lives, and offer them some loving kindness with some words and maybe a smile. For me, I will continue to make funny faces at young children, whether they smile or not.

Brightest Blessings,

 John