Catholic religious sisters have often been studied to ascertain the factors that contribute to their personal longevity. Contemplation is mentioned as being part of the contributing factors, and this week I think I would name another one: curiosity.
At one of the senior homes, a multi-story building, the windows are being replaced. A few trees were removed first, and now the windows. A challenging feature of this building is a large inner courtyard totally enclosed by the building, so there is no access to it except through the building. The quandary on resident minds has been the wondering about how the windows facing the courtyard would be replaced, for the ones on the other sides are being done with a lift. The answer arrived this week: a crane would lift a crane/lift over the building into the courtyard! Excitement moved through the hallways as the residents anticipated watching the crane being deposited into the courtyard.
This excitement is one I have often seen in kindergarten rooms. Smart kindergarten teachers stop what the class is doing when a cement truck is unloading cement outside the windows, or a garbage truck has arrived for the weekly pickup. Natural human curiosity wants to see these somewhat mundane events, as through the eyes of a curious person the events are far from mundane. I kept my young children at home from school one day because the house beside us was being knocked down and we had a front row seat from our third floor windows. What an exciting morning that was!
I told the sister who was describing the placement of the crane (she will have a front row seat as her window faces the courtyard) to text me when it was happening because I wanted to see it too! This curiosity is not just because of a spectacular moment of a large crane arriving. This curiosity flows freely from her 90 year old being as I hear the phrase “I wonder…” from her often.
I would propose on this cool sunny Friday morning that curiosity is a contributing factor to longevity, for the simple reality is that curiosity leads to joy, joy leads to life…
What are you curious about today? What is something you need to understand more fully? May the joy of exploration be ours each and every day!
Now and Then 