On a warm afternoon in Chennai, I found myself lazily sprawled in my mother’s room. Half asleep, but aware of my surroundings.
My mother sat nearby, her presence comforting. Just as my mind drifted, my aunt entered the room. I noticed her but kept silent, thinking, “Something interesting to discuss will be there.”
“Sister, I can’t understand your son. Every time it’s something new — new topic, recent practice, new game, new learning. Does he ever stick with one thing?” My aunt asked, sounding exasperated.
I raised an eyebrow and bit my lip curiously. Even my constant quests and curiosities baffled me. What would my mom say?
“Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity.” — Aaron Swartz
With a chuckle, my mom replied, “Even I can’t understand this fool. One minute it’s the guitar, the next it’s karate, table tennis, and drums. Who knows what’s next?”
I am not sure what others think of my curiosity, but today, looking back, I see it as the greatest gift I ever received.
Here are a few major benefits I see:
Constantly learning
A curious person always has a learning mind. I never think I am perfect in anything. New things pop up, and your mind stays young and active. Learning new things keeps your mind active all the time.
Broadening Your Thinking
As Buddhists say, we are all dependent organisms, and so is our knowledge. If you are interested in astronomy, you must know physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology — they are all interconnected.
One system interconnects other parts of our body. The same goes for our knowledge. Being curious kick-starts this web of connections as you learn many things.
My friends used to say, “Raj, when you explain, you talk about many topics and circle back to the topic we were discussing,” because everything connects.
I can easily tell if a person truly knows something or is just mugging it up like reading a book and reciting it
Drawbacks of Being Curious
Too Many Purchases
To know things, you need to buy something, and after using it, you move on to the next thing.
This becomes obsolete, and you think of giving it away. Kids do this often. It’s not just a kids’ habit; it’s being curious.
People Get Annoyed
Like my aunt. Curious people often get such comments. But as they are not curious, they don’t know how valuable this trait is.
Drawbacks for Oneself
If you don’t properly strategize, being curious may leave you disconnected. You don’t know where you are going. You need a better strategy to link things.
Few Words for Parents of Curious Kids
I know you can’t understand him, and you want him to be what you want. If you are that type of person, you need to do an imposition. Read “On Children” in the book The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran:
“They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.”
You may have a Steve Jobs as your son (who knows), and one day when you serve an apple to him, he looks at it curiously, takes it, and says, “Dad/Mom, one day I will have the biggest company, and I will name it Apple.”
Most of the Indian parents I see have a topology answer to this: “Ok, first do your homework and get a good mark in the exam. Time is up. Go to tuition. “
another example is that I see many of my nephews/nieces ask questions
“Why are all tires black? “
“If all gods are the same, why are we X and they are Y?”
“If god exists and you praying, did you see god?”
“Why universe is the so big”
And so on…….
I do not see a good example of how parents reply to these answers, just like the above. I feel pity for the kids.
What answers do elders give?
All you do is break his idea right there when the kids are building there dream.
Again by Kahlil Gibran:
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
Yes, it’s a double-edged sword being a parent or an individual who is curious. It’s like great energy that needs to be harnessed properly and with care.
If harnessed, it gives you great power; if not, it wastes a lot of time, money, and energy.
In my future articles, I will write about how someone guided and trained me to harness this great strength.
