Relearning Curiosity

It’s time for my semi-regular series, things I’m learning from my son:

It’s fascinating watching a young one grow. Every day there is a new thing to see, to discover, to *KNOW.* With so many things in his word to discover, why only look at the obvious? When walking with him in my arms, his hand will shoot out to grab anything that is within his reach. It may be mundane, but it still has something to teach him, and he has so much he wants to learn.

We lose this unbridled curiosity somewhere. We still want to learn, but we harness our interests and direct our focus. The mundane within our reach is no longer satisfying; we must reach for something spectacular. Something new. Something *interesting.*

This is not a bad thing. Dedicated people with focused curiosity is why billions of transistors can deliver my words to you at close to the speed of light. However, such focus provides a specific threat to our creativity as well. Creativity without enthusiasm can starve. If someone’s focused attention is not shared with others, it appears that they are grasping at something mundane just because it happens to be within their reach.

Now, back to Elias. As he grabs something, it’s on me to try and remember what he is learning, to try and see it as he does. It’s on me to share and nurture his curiosity. And really, he’s no different from anyone else in this regard. Nurturing curiosity does not become less important as we get older; it becomes more so. As we focus our curiosity, there are fewer people who share our focus. We need each other’s enthusiasm all the more.