Each Wednesday (or thereabouts) I’ve been recording a Curiosity Journal to recap the previous week using these tag words: reading, playing, learning, reacting and writing.Care to join me?
Reading
I finished a book called Curious? Although I wouldn’t urge you to rush out and read the whole book, I found some sections interesting enough to collect on my Tumblr blog.The author offers some descriptions of how people remain curious into adulthood.”Based on several studies, we have some tentative answers about the type of behaviors at age 20 and 40 that predict openness, curiosity, and the ability to handle and even embrace uncertainty at 60…Those college-aged youngsters identified as very curious in later adulthood had several characteristics in common:
- They had rich emotional lives filled with both positive and negative feelings (further evidence that negative emotions are not ‘bad’).
- They were actively searching for meaning in life (this included questioning authority and dominant, widely accepted ideas).
- They didn’t experience themselves as being restricted by social norms.
- They chose careers that gave them opportunities to be genuine, authentic, independent, and creative.”(Kashdan 33-34)
He concludes that a “hyperfocus on seeking security, avoiding distress, and sticking to a comfortable routine lessens one’s curiosity and, in turn, satisfaction and meaning in life” (34).In a section titled “The ‘Big Five’ Benefits of Harnessing Curiosity,” he begins with “Health.”
More than 2,000 older adults aged 60-86 were carefully observed over a five-year period and those who were more curious at the beginning of the study were more likely to be alive at the end of the study, even after taking into account age, whether they smoke, the presence of cancer or cardiovascular disease, and all the rest of the usual markers.
Want to live longer? Be curious!
Learning
The book includes some “measurement tools.” I took “The Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II” and felt kind of sad. I guess I’m a lifelong learner, but less curious overall than I thought. I can’t type out the entire inventory, but it included questions like, “I am the type of person who really enjoys the uncertainty of everyday life,” “I like to do things that are a little frightening,” and “I prefer jobs that are excitingly unpredictable.”I had to be honest and admit that I avoid frightening things and prefer a little predictability. Phooey.I did better with a few of the questions, such as “I actively seek as much information as I can in new situations,” which I think is fairly true of me. Also, “I frequently seek out opportunities to challenge myself and grow as a person.”To exercise and increase curiosity, I guess I need to embrace a little uncertainty.And fear.
Playing
About a year ago, my son announced that he wanted to play cello. I promised to look into it but asked him to faithfully practice piano in the meantime. I wanted to test his commitment to music in general. Plus, I didn’t look forward to renting a cello if it was a passing fancy.Well, he did what I asked. For an entire school year, he practiced piano and continued to ask about cello.That seemed like more than a passing fancy, so I arranged for him to take his first cello lesson on Tuesday night. He seems engaged and eager to learn, eager to practice, eager to listen to that rich sound flow out of the instrument. The young woman giving him lessons is a cello performance major, home for the summer. He has a lot to learn before she goes back to college in September.It’s a good start for a young man who wants to do more than play the Wii. If a 10-year-old boy wants to play an instrument, it seems we should do what we can to support that interest.
Reacting
A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling crummy. Like someone punched me in the face. I woke exhausted regardless of how much sleep I got. When I jogged, I felt fluid slosh behind my eardrums. Basically, I was…bleh. The doctor loves it when I’m specific like that. Helps with her diagnosis, I’m sure.She popped that skinny black piece onto her light and looked in my ears, up my nose and into my throat. She felt my lymph glands and listened to my lungs.Finally, she declared that I had a sinus infection and sent me off with a prescription for antibiotics. A few days after a ten-day treatment, I woke up feeling crummier than ever. In addition, I felt a little loopy…my thoughts fuzzy, fading in and out at times.I returned to the doctor and shared those precise medical terms to aid her diagnosis: crummy, loopy, fuzzy, fading. She nodded.Then she popped that skinny black piece onto her light again and looked in my ears, up my nose and into my throat. She felt my lymph glands and listened to my lungs.It was still the darned sinus infection, more intense than ever.More meds.I’m still a little fuzzy in the head, though. I decided not to blog until the last minute…in case it all came out weird.Then I thought, for all I know, it always comes out weird and a fuzzy, loopy post might seem like standard Ann Kroeker prose.{shrug}
Writing
Well, so much for my gung-ho writing plans. I thought I’d have written so many blog posts by now that I’d be scheduling them two weeks out.
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Notebook image by Ann Kroeker. All rights reserved. You may “pin” in a way that links back to this post.
Hope you’re feeling better!
All four of our kids play instruments, at varying levels of accomplishment. Your son sounds like he’s passionate and passion goes a long way in mastering an instrument. The cello is oh, so beautiful! Enjoy!
Thanks for the encouragement, Cheryl. Each child plays an instrument in our family, too, “at varying levels of accomplishment.”
Ah, the cello! Those fretless strings take time to master. But so, so worth it. Do you have a flautist in the house? Cello and flute together are ear-ambrosia.
I do hope your ear/sinus thing is better soon. I’ve been struggling with that same problem for months. If you find a good resolution, will you please let me know?
We DO have a flautist! She set it aside this year and graduates from high school next year. I have a new teacher for her, so maybe some sweet sounds wafting from the living room for the 2012-2013 school year??
Thank you, Sheila, for commiserating. I will pass along everything I learn. Darlene (see below) is going to email me remedies of all kinds. She’s the go-to girl on health problems like this. Just this morning I stuck my head under a towel-tent and breathed in some steam with a bit of peppermint oil, to try to loosen the gunk up in my head. Next time I do it, I’m going to add garlic. I also do the neti pot, but the doctor said that’s better for maintenance—when it’s this clogged, it won’t budge with a neti pot. I’m going to start drinking a lemon juice/cayenne pepper concoction. So…I won’t know which one of these variables will be the transformative piece. Maybe it’ll be the cumulative effect.
Darlene says I’ve got to give up dairy. Darn. I like cheese.
Ann,
My daughter plays the flute and the cello (but the flute is her primary instrument–she “doodles” at cello, I would say), so she can’t play them both at the same time. And my cello-ing days are long behind me. What a blessing for your household.
Thank you for sharing Darlene’s ideas. At 53, I’ve never had this problem until it began last fall. It got WORSE when I quit smoking in February (go figure!) and it really is wearing at me.
Just on my way in I was thinking about Paul’s verse about being content in all circumstances. I need to walk in that for a while.
1. Those cello images are grande good. My 8-year old is learning (alongside his father) guitar. I cannot even carry a tune in a bucket, that’s why I used to play the drums. Anyway, kudos to your young man.
2. Gonna have to send you an email with some herbal remedies and dietary suggestions. (I do have a degree in this sorta thing…) I’ve helped both my mom and m-i-law kick their chronic sinus issues to the curb. (gonna have to give up dairy, girl… mooooo)
3. Hope you feel better soon.
Blessings.
I’ll be watching for your e-mail, Darlene! I did some online research this morning and look forward to seeing if any of those ideas overlap with yours. I’m willing to do lots of things…even give up dairy. Fortunately, I have a health food store nearby and can lean on those cheese substitutes until I adjust. I can do without milk, but cheese is so handy for so many things.
Thanks for your concern and kindness!
That photo of a boy in cargo shorts holding a cello–priceless!
And if the secret to a long life is being filled with positive and negative emotions, then I’m gonna live for stinkin’ ever!
I appreciated that the author added that little thought–that both positive and negative can be good. I don’t *enjoy* feeling anger or sadness, but it’s reassuring that those are normal and, perhaps in the end, healthy…as long as I deal with them in a healthy way (whatever that means).
Love my cargo-shorts boy and his new cello. He’s pulling it out now, even as I speak.
Oh, Ann – what a lovely mix of beautiful and hard. The cello! What a great instrument to learn, right along with piano. And you’re right, dedication needs to be honored. Love the tidbits about curiosity – but I’m with you. I don’t like to do scary things. At least, physically scary things that require bungee cords or kites, etc. I do take risks like going to school at mid-life and traveling to Africa at 21 – but not the dare-devil stuff.
I am so sorry you’re feeling crummy. It flavors everything in life when you feel lousy – and it’s not a pleasant taste. Praying you’ll get to the bottom of it all and feel like yourself soon. Praying the same thing for Sheila, too.
How wonderful your son wants to learn cello! It’s such a beautiful instrument and I’ve heard the NC School of the Arts give scholarships to students who want to play cello because…no one does. At least, not many people so they encourage those who do want to play cello. There are a few other instruments they provide money for but, right now, can’t remember which.
So sorry you’re under the weather, although, just yesterday I heard that phrase in Australia means one has been on a drunken tear for six weeks! Be careful what you say, eh? -smile-