I found myself doing the spiel. You know, this is a red-tailed hawk. It's like most common widespread bird of prey in North America. You know, I'm doing the kind of event spiel. But at that time, I was doing it to thousands of people at a time that I knew were all over the world on this live stream instead of in person with maybe 20 kids at a time.
I did what I thought, at least my curiosity and these women deserved and I started to, you know, look for their music, their names. And then I discovered one story and another story and another story.
it became a joke in our house because my husband is an engineer and he loves music, but it's not his field. And every morning at breakfast, I would tell him, oh my God, you must listen to this. Do you know this woman, la, la, la, la, la. And then he was like, wow, so interesting this. And I was like that for, I think, almost a year.
I did what I thought at least my curiosity and these women deserved. And I started to look for their music, their names. And then I discovered one story and another story and another story.
I don't consider myself ambitious. I consider myself curious. I don't do things for fame, money, exposure, accolades. I don't do it for those things. I think success at this age is having the ability to choose the thing that I want to do.
Nothing that happens after the question is your responsibility. Your responsibility is have the curiosity, the integrity, the thoughtfulness, and the humility to ask what's on your mind and not bite your tongue because well, it might be uncomfortable. Well, what are they going to say? Let that be their problem.
Adults spend so much time in environments where they're trying to control the outcome that play as a practice becomes about not knowing, not having an attachment to what the outcome is. Side quests release us from worrying about the outcome. Learning begins with inquiry. In fact, the word quest comes from the root question or inquiry.
Why does she get them in so many different situations? What's happening in her body and what does it mean? We take that question and run with it — we face chilly winds, sudden frights, and moments when the world seem to shift under your feet to figure out what the little bumps on our skin might be trying to tell us.
People who report a lot of awe in their lives also tend to score high on measures of well-being. They report feeling more connected to others, more curious, and less focused on their own day-to-day concerns. In a sense, awe seems to shrink the self — and in doing so, it might make room for something larger.
We tend to think that deep conversations require vulnerability, openness, and a willingness to share our inner lives. But Mastroianni's research suggests something different: that the biggest obstacle to good conversations isn't a lack of openness, but a lack of curiosity. Most of us are so focused on what we want to say that we forget to wonder about the person in front of us.
I do think the purpose of life is exploration. So, how could answers to the unknowable questions of the universe from a from an advanced species, how could that not be catnip? How could you not want to go? But my life as a writer has been about exploration here. How could I not stay?
The footage we had seen was not just data. This was an experience of life. It was reminding me why exploration really matters. It's not just about understanding the world with our logical minds. I believe exploration has huge potential to allow us to experience things with emotion and feel the context of why we're here on Earth.
There is something about realizing there is an entire world right underneath you. different animals, different rock, different landscape entirely that has been there the entire time and you never knew about it.
7mo ago
Underscored — save the words that stop you in your tracks.
