Curiosity spices our lives. It's another filament we can spin into our practice of being awake and aware. The word curiosity comes from the Latin, cura--which means care. If I were a parish priest in England, I might be called a curate because I would have responsibility for a 'cure of souls.' Yet 'cure' doesn't mean what it sounds like, at least not literally. A 'cure' is the physical area of a parish, the boundaries of a priest's parish neighborhood.
Curiosity means to take a conscious interest in something. Literally to 'care' about it. Curiosity naturally fuels active awareness. When we're interested in something, curious about it, the 'something' draws us in, engages us, teaches us, maybe even delights us.
Jack Kornfield relates a wonderful example of a reluctant kind of curiosity:
One young army officer who had a hot temper and a history of anger--and stress-related problems--was ordered by his colonel to attend an eight-week mindfulness training class to help reduce his level of stress. One day, after attending the class for some weeks, he stopped for groceries on his way home. He was in a hurry and a bit irritated as usual.
When he took his cart to check out, there were long lines. He noticed the woman in front of him had only one item but wasn't in the express line. She was carrying a baby and talking to the cashier. He became irritated.
She was in the wrong line, talking, holding everybody up. Then she passed the baby to the cashier and the cashier spent a moment cooing over the child. He could feel his habitual anger rising.
But because he'd been practicing mindfulness, he started to become aware of the heat and tightness in his body. He could feel the pain. He breathed and relaxed. When he looked up again he saw the little boy smiling.
As he reached the cashier he said, "That's a cute little boy."
"Oh, did you like him?" she responded. "That's my baby. His father was in the air force, but he was killed last winter. Now I have to work full time. My mom tries to bring my boy in once or twice a day so I can see him."
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Curiosity leads us to care about stuff; it gives each of us a 'care of souls,' ours and others--an active interest in what's in and around us. Care widens our boundaries. As we say 'Yes' to curiosity, Life opens in life-changing ways.
