Discovery

As human beings it is our natural instinct to explore new ways of being in this world.  From the time we are born, we are hard-wired to seek and discover.  Just spending a few minutes with a curious toddler confirms this notion.  I recently spent an afternoon with my 11-month old nephew and watched as he explored his little world with gleeful abandon.  Witnessing him brought me back to the days when my three girls were babies.  I have such fond memories of taking walks with them around our neighborhood.  Little fingers overturning every leaf, stone and acorn with delight.  Pudgy arms hugging trees and stopping to smell every flower on our path.  Needless to say, our walks were never  “quick” ones; we dedicated whole afternoons to our adventures.  When we returned home, more time was spent reveling in our newly acquired treasures found along the way.  Sadly though, as we become adults, we tend to lose that curiosity.  We become busy and often live mainly in our left brains trying to process our daily lives as intellectually as possible.  I for one, miss those sun-dappled days with nothing more to do than to explore our corner of the map.

Of course, there are many well-known scientists and explorers whose inquisitiveness led them to the most significant discoveries of our time.  Life as we know it would not be what it is today without Galileo Galilei, Christopher Columbus or Albert Einstein to name just a few.  What was it inside of them that sparked such inspiration for them to seek beyond the confines of their world?  I can only guess to say that curiosity played a big role in their endeavors.

It is not easy today to keep an open channel to that part of ourselves that seeks and dreams outside the box.  Many people use meditation or prayer to try to access that part of themselves.  We can all use these tools to take the time to get quiet and listen for new possibilities that we could often miss in our hectic daily lives.  I often use meditation for exactly that purpose but I have found that I sometimes need a little assistance.  That is when I grab the hand of one of my children, head outdoors and let them show me the way.

Linda Hasley
Managing Editor