Holy Curiosity

Asking questions, wondering, and learning - that's the good stuff.

I'm writing to you today from just over the northern border in Canada. Can you say, "eh?" The hardwood floors in this monastery need some polishing, but the heat seems to be working just fine. Good thing because it's 36 degrees and windy outside despite the calendar. I'm residing at a Carmelite monastery for the final retreat of my Spiritual Direction training program. Unfortunately, I began this two-year process at the onset of the pandemic, so everything switched to Zoom instead of in-person retreats. This weekend I realized how good it is to be in person – it makes all the difference.

Of all the experiences, learnings, readings, and training, I've concluded that a life rooted in spiritual companionship (a better word than direction) celebrates the value of curiosity. We could also call it to wonder. If asked what makes life worth living, I must land squarely on one’s capacity to be curious. That desire to investigate and to learn. Curious and its cousin inquisitive originate in Latin in the 1300s and could move in two different directions. Curious expresses the desire to know, learn, and explore; inquisitive articulates the effort to discover by inquiry. But when either turn toward prying, the attempt to find out secrets involves looking in improper or aggressive ways.

Yet, I’ll stick with my premise that curiosity and wonder are the keys to the kingdom for a life rich and rewarding.

“One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”

-—Albert Einstein

"Holy Curiosity" What a delightful phrase.

People in the sciences and arts sit pretty comfortably with curiosity. Photographer Mary Ellen Mark once said, "I saw that my camera gave me a sense of connection with others that I never had before. It allowed me to enter lives, satisfying a curiosity that was always there but that was never explored before." While the immensely creative musician, actor, and painter David Bowie commented, "What I have is a malevolent curiosity. That drives my need to write and probably leads me to look at things a little askew. I do tend to take a different perspective from most people.”

So why can’t the realm of spirituality, faith, and the wonders of the sacred embrace holy curiosity?

For the longest time, I've pondered questions about science and theology. I remain dissatisfied with many attempts to reconcile these two ways of explaining life. Then, last fall, I stumbled on a new understanding of God and the Universe. It was new to me, despite being around for a few hundred years. This is the concept of Pandeism. In brief, this is the idea that God created the universe by becoming the universe. The concept became quite intriguing to me, though it still lacked an understanding of God being larger than all of life. This led me to learn of Panendeism, which describes a God who created the whole universe by becoming it but remains beyond the universe simultaneously. Now I faced a challenge because, in this scenario, God has a hand's off approach. These ideas led me to rethink my views on prayer. "Well, why pray then?" If God is hands-off, what's the point of asking for an intervention, which led me to wonder if I do indeed believe in an interventionist deity. I want to, but I must confess to wondering if my prayers for intervention reinforce my desires.

I'm still wrestling with these questions, but I want to point out that holy curiosity leads one to a deeper and richer life.

Perhaps you’re not inclined to be so theologically curious. The good news is there are other ways of expressing curiosity.

The physically curious person hungers to touch, experience, and do. This person often speaks of travel and tends to be impulsive and constantly in motion. We see physical curiosity in those who work with their hands. I recall watching a friend in high school take a part of his father's car and then reassemble it. There were a few parts left over, but it ran, and my friend learned a lot about automobiles. He later went on to work as an auto mechanic and then a college professor in mechanical engineering.

The relationally curious person seeks connection to others; soul-sharing through empathy; words and gestures, painting, poetry, theatre, and songs linking heart to heart. Emotional curiosity is spiritual hunger. Some people are curious about other people. The great journalistic interviewers of the 20th century engaged in conversations that illuminated our lives. I’m thinking of Diane Sawyer, Judy Woodruff, and Barbara Walters, among many others.

The intellectually curious person navigates an ocean of riddles to be solved, connections to be investigated, patterns that whisper secret meanings. My father embodied this type of curiosity. He devoured books, newspapers, and science journals. Later in life, I also realized he knew about Shakespeare, Jazz musicians, Homer's Iliad, and The Odyssey. Along with a degree in Biology and Physics, he had one of those minds that sought to understand the world through intellectual curiosity.

The organizationally curious person discovers what is missing and then proceeds to fill the void. These leaders serve us by creating structure, process, and order. I continue to be amazed by these people who see both the forest and the trees and the intertwined root system. While here in Canada this week, I learned about their excellent health care system and how the founder Tommy Douglas navigated both the intricacies of politics and policy to bring about one of the best national health systems in the world.

Being a spiritually curious person is a central piece of my training in Spiritual Direction. The emphasis has been on Christian Mysticism and the Depth Psychology of Carl Jung. The great saints of the church have all been curious people. There is quite a range of holy curiosities from the ancient desert fathers and mothers to the European mystics such as Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen, and Meister Eckhart. In our time, it’s been the Depth Psychologists whose curiosity and wonder about the human soul have plunged the depths and learned what moves us and gives us meaning. Carl Jung himself engaged in holy curiosity. His intellectual, imaginative, and spiritual pursuits covered the spectrum.  

In his book, A Curious Mind, film and TV producer Brian Grazer (24, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13) credits curiosity for driving his life and career. "More than intelligence or persistence or connections, curiosity has allowed me to live the life I wanted," As Grazer explores how curiosity has shaped his life, he sprinkles in numerous anecdotes about the hundreds of people he's sought out for one-on-one sessions he terms curiosity conversations. “I wanted to write about the impulse to have those conversations.” I would also describe this as a spiritual practice of holy curiosity. You could try it on for size. Who are the people you'd like to engage in curiosity conversations within your life?

In his ministry, Jesus often has holy curiosity moments where he asks others what they want. For example, he asks the blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51) On another occasion, James and John approach Jesus, and he asks them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:36) Both in his healing ministry and with his friends, Jesus displays a kind of openness and curiosity toward others. Until recently, I had never really considered the possibility of a curious Jesus. However, in the Gospels, Jesus models for us a way to treat others. He asks questions.

So I imagine being a person who is genuinely curious about others, about life, about the way things work and don't work. Asking questions, wondering, and learning that's the good stuff.

Holy curiosity leads to wisdom.

Be well, Be Curious.