“Choosing curiosity over fear”
This past week the podcast On Being is a July 7, 2016 rebroadcast of a conversation between the host, Krista Tippett and the author Elizabeth Gilbert. Ms. Gilbert’s best known book is Eat Pray Love. Her most recent book is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.
Ms. Gilbert talks about her own battle with depression, with having to claim her own identity as a woman who had and has an ability to move beyond fear to curiosity. Ms. Giblert defines creativity as “choosing curiosity over fear.” She contrasts curiosity and passion. Curiosity is a much quieter, gentle, perhaps even plodding way to move forward with one’s dance
It is obvious that we live in a world in which we have learned to be fearful. Instant and continuous news about wars around the words, angry words being tweeted by world “leaders”, mass killings in schools, violence of and about drugs, and the challenge of claiming our own identify all contribute to the dance of fear.
If one is one of the lucky ones to have stumbled onto curiosity, heard and heeded its call, or born into a place and time where answering the call was supported and perhaps encouraged, then one knows its rewards.
I recently received a note from a nephew thanking me for a graduation gift. The note said in part, “I am glad you are a part of my mother’s family. I think it’s great you’re a gay man who is comfortable enough in who you are…. I greatly appreciated his note and his honesty,
Certainly there was a long time when I heeded the call to fear; when despite my curiosity about my sexual orientation, my beliefs which conflicted with many of the Southern Baptist Southern beliefs with which I had been raised, and my fear that I was not intellectually bright enough to attend college I choose to do my best to feed my curiosity in all areas of my life dance. A part of me needed to open those forbidden doors; needed to satisfy my curiosity.
Ms. Gilbert reminded me that there is something within me which has propelled me forward in spite of the fear. Today, much of the time, fear is a distant or squeaky voice. As is true for all of us, there are times when I think I might allow the fear to take charge and forego potential criticism or disagreements. Yet, most of the time, curiosity takes over. Such is the case with writing this blog. Many days fear tells me I have nothing important to say. Fear tells me that a line directing readers to the On Being Podcast or some other source which has gently tickled my curiosity is all I need to write. Yet, I seem unable to allow that fear to be in charge. I am eternally curious to see what will emerge on this page as I write.
Written May 28, 2018
This past week the podcast On Being is a July 7, 2016 rebroadcast of a conversation between the host, Krista Tippett and the author Elizabeth Gilbert. Ms. Gilbert’s best known book is Eat Pray Love. Her most recent book is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.
Ms. Gilbert talks about her own battle with depression, with having to claim her own identity as a woman who had and has an ability to move beyond fear to curiosity. Ms. Giblert defines creativity as “choosing curiosity over fear.” She contrasts curiosity and passion. Curiosity is a much quieter, gentle, perhaps even plodding way to move forward with one’s dance
It is obvious that we live in a world in which we have learned to be fearful. Instant and continuous news about wars around the words, angry words being tweeted by world “leaders”, mass killings in schools, violence of and about drugs, and the challenge of claiming our own identify all contribute to the dance of fear.
If one is one of the lucky ones to have stumbled onto curiosity, heard and heeded its call, or born into a place and time where answering the call was supported and perhaps encouraged, then one knows its rewards.
I recently received a note from a nephew thanking me for a graduation gift. The note said in part, “I am glad you are a part of my mother’s family. I think it’s great you’re a gay man who is comfortable enough in who you are…. I greatly appreciated his note and his honesty,
Certainly there was a long time when I heeded the call to fear; when despite my curiosity about my sexual orientation, my beliefs which conflicted with many of the Southern Baptist Southern beliefs with which I had been raised, and my fear that I was not intellectually bright enough to attend college I choose to do my best to feed my curiosity in all areas of my life dance. A part of me needed to open those forbidden doors; needed to satisfy my curiosity.
Ms. Gilbert reminded me that there is something within me which has propelled me forward in spite of the fear. Today, much of the time, fear is a distant or squeaky voice. As is true for all of us, there are times when I think I might allow the fear to take charge and forego potential criticism or disagreements. Yet, most of the time, curiosity takes over. Such is the case with writing this blog. Many days fear tells me I have nothing important to say. Fear tells me that a line directing readers to the On Being Podcast or some other source which has gently tickled my curiosity is all I need to write. Yet, I seem unable to allow that fear to be in charge. I am eternally curious to see what will emerge on this page as I write.
Written May 28, 2018
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