The Power of Curiosity: Embracing the Unknown

What is it that attracts us to the unknown? There is this lure and longing in people to embrace the unknown and seek to discover the undiscovered. You see a closed box and it has a sign on it that reads “do not open”. What is your first instinct? Immediately, you want to know what is in the box. Who placed the box there? Most importantly, why do they not want the box opened? It becomes a game that can make our brain hurt, since we let ourselves become distracted by such an item.

It says that it should not be opened, but every fiber in our being wants to know why.

“Curiosity killed the cat.” Luckily, he has nine lives unless eight have already been used, so then he is flat out of luck.

We are curious creatures by nature, desiring to know everything. Life is spent constantly searching for answers. This is both in a physical and mental sense. People want to know what the purpose of life is, and, at the same time, what is at the bottom of the deepest ocean. This curiosity is what drives us forward, and it is healthy! Humankind should be in a constant mindset of asking questions and searching for answers.

When a person loses this desire to discover or explore, life can become depressing and unfulfilling. The fatalist will say that there is no point in searching for answers because they will never be found, nor do they exist. Why waste the time and the effort on a pointless exercise? This is a person who has lost all hope. They no longer care as they muddle through a meaningless existence.

Don’t let yourself fall into pit of apathy and give up on hope. We need it. We must have it, or we will wither and die like a plant without water and sunlight. If there is no purpose to living this life, why is there a deep seeded drive born within each person to be significant? People strive to have an impact on humanity, achieving great things. We all start with dreams as children of becoming a superhero, a doctor, musician or an astronaut. Those who no longer dream have given up hope and resigned themselves to a life of insignificance. Yet, there is a life of significance for everyone to be had!

Fear of the future will destroy us. We need to look at each day as a chance to foster and grow hope. Embrace the unknown and find satisfaction in discovering new truths or affirming those you have already discovered. Never snuff or suppress curiosity, for it is in your nature. Part of the human condition is this; the need to seek.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.

Confronting the Fears

What is your greatest fear? All of us, even the bravest of persons, have fears we face and struggle against frequently in life. Fear is a natural emotion that humans experience, especially fear of the unknown. The future can always be unnerving as we plan and adjust our lives in the attempt to have a better outcome. If only there was a magic ball that we could gaze into and see the events and outcomes that are awaiting us.

How different would life be in the here and now if a person knew the future. If a person knew what was ahead and it was something horrible, would they not try to make changes to gain a better the outcome? Yet, to change the outcome and alter the future, what you knew would become invalid…. a philosophical paradox. Alas, could it be true that everything is preset and no matter what a person would do, the outcome would be the same….

Sorry, I am sure your brain hurts now. I know mine does when I flip this question over and over in my mind.

I feel that fear of the “unknown” is essentially the greatest fear a person can experience. We toil and struggle with the uncertainty of our future as we see wars, violence, divided politics, lawlessness, inflation, hostages, human trafficking, and on and on. Turn on the nightly news and there is always something new going on that makes the future look dim and sometimes hopeless. Does humanity have a chance to survive in this treacherous storm that engulfs its existence?

Our world has abandoned its morality and embraced a reckless philosophy devoid of basic principles and structure. It has let itself dive into an environment of hate, depression, hedonism, and the lack of any accountability. Morality cannot exist without accountability, otherwise we are in chaos, and, unfortunately, this world is churning in this chaos now more than ever.

So here we find ourselves with a bleak future as we let the principalities of this world rule our lives, suppressing our ability to embrace higher principles that supersede humankind.

You should be afraid of the future.

Ignoring this chaos or hiding in a hole will only end in disaster. Being brave does not mean that you are not afraid. It means you face the challenge in spite of the fear. It will take many of us to rise up and stand for what is good and trust that we can in a way “change the future.” It begins with an insurrection against the immorality that the world continues to worship.

What will you do? Embrace the fear or let the fear destroy you?