Go Beyond

Curiosity and discovery are inextricably linked. Curiosity is simply defined as an eagerness to know or learn — that restless urge to explore and to find answers. This urge to find answers and to make discoveries is the natural enemy of contentment. Every breakthrough, discovery, and advancement can ultimately be traced back to someone who was curious.

Given the exponential growth of technology and easy access to information, much of our curiosity can be quickly satisfied with an armchair Google search. The internet and Smartphone apps have certainly made searching for information easier than fishing in a barrel. The danger in all of this ease is being satisfied with quick bits and pieces of information without ever digging deeper into the heart of a subject.

Digging deeper yields rewards that can’t be found by those who are content to scratch around on the surface. In the study of the Scriptures, for example, developing the skills to use good hermeneutical tools is essential to enriching our understanding of God and His purposes. There is something fulfilling about satisfying our curiosity about a particular topic by slowing down, digging deep, and gaining fresh insight into that topic.

Those who are truly curious are not content to remain passive. Curiosity leads to movement in the direction of discovery — it drives engagement and interaction with the unknown. Curiosity makes us put on our shoes and walk out the door in the hope that what we discover will change us and perhaps change the world around us. Curiosity beckons us to look in new directions and to engage with the world around us in more meaningful ways.

We are the beneficiaries of curious people — men and women who just had to find answers. Whether hunched over a microscope, looking through a telescope, standing at the helm of a ship, or looking up from the foot of a mountain, our lives have been enriched by the discoveries of curious people. Curiosity is still pointing people toward the rewards and satisfaction reserved only for those who will take the time to investigate, explore, question, and learn. I love it that NASA named its Mars rover Curiosity!

The old debonair and most interesting man in the world guy in those Dos Equis beer commercials has at least one thing right — “Stay thirsty my friends.” We should indeed stay thirsty and remain curious about the world around us. And we should responsibly work to satisfy our curiosity about those topics that create an itch in our hearts and minds. So, stay curious, my friends. In the words of Albert Einstein, “Never lose a holy curiosity.”