Walking down the long narrow hall of the church basement, I was greeted by bright and beautiful paintings of Biblical scenes. There was Adam and Eve in the Garden, Noah’s Ark with animals boarding, Moses presenting the 10 Commandments, the Nativity, The Sermon on The Mount … and a painting of God. It was one of those paintings where his bright blue eyes seemed to follow you. He was in the clouds, with fat-cheeked cherubim floating around him. Interestingly, he looked like the guitar player from ZZ Top minus the sunglasses. Long flowing hair and beard seemed to almost blend into the clouds with streams of sunlight behind him.
I was curious. I asked our teacher, Dr. Gibbons, how do they know what God looks like? He responded with a curt ‘It’s mentioned in the Bible’ and quickly changed the subject. Over the next two Sundays, I kept asking … and the brush off continued until my parents received a letter saying I wasn’t allowed to attend Sunday School anymore due to me being disruptive. Once I explained it to my mother, she recalled seeing the God painting and said, “That’s ridiculous. If they can’t answer that simple question, they probably can’t answer the hard ones.”
That was the first time I experienced the challenge of curiosity. Throughout my life, I have been driven by curiosity … and realized that some folks don’t like it. They would prefer you just listen. Put your nose to the grindstone, know your place, and be a good citizen.
It seems natural to me to ask questions. After all, ‘why’ is a word that every parent is plagued with. I know I am not alone in seeking meaning and context … and to figure people out like flipping a Rubik’s Cube over and over … just to find more complexity and questions. Websites, videos and shows about “How Stuff Works” are immensely satisfying tome. And understanding how our bodies work, how we form memories, make decisions, decide who to marry … feeds my insatiable curiosity.
As a society, are we running out of curiosity? Think of the recent racial, generational, political, and geographical conflicts that we have had. Are we curious about their history or motivations … or defaulting to a quick and satisfying in-group judgement? We have been encouraged to not ask people questions, stereotype, and to look upon the world as a binary battle. Remember how we bashed Millennials … without asking, “Wait, what was I like when I was young?” And now we are doing the same thing to Gen Z … again without being curious enough to see that we have always disparaged youth.
The knowledge revolution seems to have led us to seek the cold comfort of confirmation. Our late night Tik Tok rabbit holes harmonize with what we already believe … “our truth”. Judgement is all the rage!
The cure is curiosity (by the way, ‘cure’ and ‘curiosity’ have a similar origin). Here is where we can start:
1) Don’t believe everything you think. Bias comes from experience and your experience is limited.
2) Have the confidence to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out”.
3) Get comfortable with discomfort. Growth comes from the challenge of different perspectives.
This is just a start. I look forward to being curious with you!
To learn more about curiosity and how to encourage more within your organization or team members, we invite you to reach out to The Best Workplace. We are happy to discuss the curiosity possibilities and potential for your company over a 15-minute Virtual Coffee Chat or one-on-one learning strategy consultation.
You can reach us at 678-667-1275, 678-543-4164, or Hello@thebestworkplace.com. You can also schedule a meeting online and learn more about The Best Workplace’s full suite of services at www.TheBestWorkplace.com.
