in Choose Hope Today, Curiosity
Curiosity is the impetus that drives invention and personal discovery. It is the very source of revelation. To understand the world and ourselves is a fundamental part of human nature; but when we experience trauma, fear and disapproval can paralyze curiosity, preventing us from the necessary self-examination that leads to healing. You must not allow yourself to be stalled here. Step through the fear. Shut out the voices of disapproval. Keep moving forward.
Curiosity is the natural byproduct of being honest with yourself. Friend, do you Practice bold Honesty? Do you form your personal narrative based on fantasy and delusion, or are you grounded in truth and reality? It is time to dig deep and get to the root of your pain.
This is hard work because it is healing work. This journey requires a willingness to set aside any agenda or preconceived notions and follow your questions wherever they may lead. You must ask the hard questions! What part have you played in creating the mess you’re in? What pain have you avoided or masked through self-destructive behavior? What hard truths have you rejected? Why did you ignore the internal messages being shouted at you from the very center of your being?
Understand that, at first, the knowledge you receive from your Curiosity could lead you to return to the Practices of Surrender, Stillness, and Grief to dig deeper. This hard-fought knowledge is the price of understanding how you got into your situation, but it’s also the key to how you can get out. You must go through it to get through it.
It may feel easier to cast blame upon someone else or to emotionally disengage from this pain, but doing so will only keep you tethered to the past. There is great freedom to be found in accepting your contribution to the pain you are experiencing. This doesn’t mean, of course, that the pain is necessarily all your doing, but you must accept responsibility for your part before you can move forward. You do not have to be a victim.
At Living Hope, Curiosity is the fifth step on your journey to healing and Hope. It is a loving means of self-examination, revealing both the truth of your circumstances and, ultimately, of who you really are. Curiosity will help you answer the questions of how you got where you are, how your decisions affected your circumstances, and how your insecurities and fears shaped those decisions. In answering those questions, you will begin healing parts of you that have been hurting for a lifetime. Slowly, the compulsion to keep your focus on your struggles will begin to fade away, and you will release yourself from the emotional ties that keep you engaged in the struggle. The release of so much pain will allow yourself to become wholly new.
You will begin the Practice of Curiosity when you are willing to sit and wonder: How did I find myself here? What part did I play? Then you must keep digging, continuing to bravely confront your own contribution to the mess you are in. Resist the need to cast shame and blame onto others and unpack the pain that you have been burying within destructive decisions and narratives.
You can begin the Practice of Curiosity now. Dig deeper. Ask the hard questions, step out of your false narrative, and discover who you really are.
Be Curious.