Intellectual Curiosity
Intellectual Curiosity: Where the wisdom of age meets the wonder of a child, and every question becomes a journey to the miraculous in the mundane.
And Jesus called a little child unto him
and set him in the midst of them
And said, Verily I say unto you
Except ye be converted
and become as little children
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:2-4 KJV
Intellectual Curiosity
If there’s ever a question I cannot answer for you, seek it in the Bible and it will be found. This passage speaks on many things at once. To be like a child is to live as one.
That doesn’t mean you should be reliant upon others to do what needs to be done, it doesn’t mean to be taken care of and to be forgiven quickly if a mistake has been made.
That is for the actual children, though throughout history those luxuries of children are a recent development. Children at one time did have to rely on themselves to a great extent.
No, to live as a child is to live humble, to live in humility. It is to exist in and of faith. Their existence as such is due to faith in their caretakers and the world. A faith wrongly placed in some circumstances but as an adult that mistake is less likely.
And it is to live in innocence. You will not be innocent. That is not the point. Innocence here is genuine curiosity and gratitude when witnessing the miraculous in the mundane.
Pay attention to children. They will stare in awe at a semi-truck riding down the street. You have seen this countless times; it is but an annoyance. Yet for them, the majesty of such a beast, such power, and such magnificence is enough to stop them in their tracks in wonder and awe.
That is what you must find. It will be lost from time to time. You must find it again. And when you do, hold onto it longer. Tighten that grip and do not let go so easily.
For if you do, each time you do, there is no guarantee that you will happen upon it again. Never forget the only certainty in your life will be uncertainty. I can tell you how to be, I cannot tell you how you will be.
There is value in living like a child. Again, I don’t mean fragile and overly reliant on others. Don’t ever do that. I mean living in wonder. I mean living as though everything you see is for the first time.
That includes information. Read as though these words are new. Try and understand as if these concepts haven’t been relayed before. Question what you are told, ask why you are being told what you are being told.
That seems complicated but it isn’t. Trust is vital. But trust is reserved for the deserving and the ascended. Trust is for God and for your inner circle. There will be times you will be called to trust beyond that circle, but that will be a call to use discernment.
It will be situational and it will be a test. Even if you do not believe in providence, even if you do not believe in the preordained, see it as a test and endeavor to pass it.
Use what you do know to tread into the unknown prepared. Be ready to act if needed, be ready to make a quick egress, but do not fear so much it paralyzes you and does not allow movement. Take your time, step confidently, just step lightly. You will make it through. You are capable.
So trust, but verify. Listen, but question what you hear. Embrace, but give yourself permission to let go if you should. I am not a proponent of being overly cautious. That is a recipe for being alive, it is the antithesis of living.
Be okay acknowledging a mistake. Be okay being wrong. Be comfortable being uncomfortable and be okay even if you’re the only one asking the uncomfortable questions.
That is your sign you are the strength in the room, that you’re not afraid of the arbitrary and often unmerited judgment of the crowd.
Stay curious. Live in wonder.
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