The Question

     From the moment of our birth into this world we are a very curious creature.  We begin to explore our surroundings by the only means we know: feeling the textures of the substances around us.  And soon we want to know what everything tastes like.  All objects that we can grasp go right to our mouth.  This includes many things that we should never put into our mouths but they go there anyway.

     We are so inquisitive about our surroundings that soon we find ourselves capable of uttering speech and we begin to ask that parent terrifying question:  WHY?  We want to know.  Our parents begin to instruct us with information we will need as we progress in this growing pattern called life.  Do this --- WHY?  Don’t do that --- WHY?  Everything they put to us is questioned.

     In time as our vocabulary grows we find that we can structure more involved questions.  But they are still with the purpose of wanting to better understand ourselves and the surroundings that we are living in.  Why is the sky blue?  What are the lights in the sky at night?  Why is the grass green?  And many other such questions!

     As our youth continues we tend to ponder the universe around us with even more complex questions.  What is the sun?  How do the orbits of planets work?  Why do chemical reactions of items respond the way they do?  It seems like the questions will never end.

     When we begin to enter our adulthood the questions will often become more personal and again very complex.  Who am I?  Why am I here?  What is the purpose of life?  Why do we grow old?  Why do we die?  What happens after death?  And there are many more.  These are questions that we really need to know the answers to if our future is to have any real meaning.

     But what usually happens?  We get to the point where we can’t find satisfying answers to these questions.  Or by asking them we are told that we are not suppose to know the answers.  We are only to believe what we are told and to stop asking these difficult questions.  So in time most of us do just that!  We no longer ask questions.  Sometimes we don’t ask any questions at all but merely “go with the flow” as the expression goes.  We accept what we are told without any consideration that maybe there is a different answer:  An answer that we can find to satisfy the burning questions within our mind and heart.

     For many years people believed the world was flat (sadly many still do today).  But it was discovered that it is flat.  That discovery is most commonly ascribed to the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras, while the credit for proving it is usually given to Aristotle.  So it was in 1519 that Magellan set sail from Spain in an effort to circumnavigate the globe and he is usually given credit for doing so.  However, Magellan died before the trip was completed.  So, in fact, he did not complete the intended voyage.  You may want to do a little more research on this subject.  But if these individuals didn’t question the current perceived notion of a flat earth we may never have known.

     You can imagine the same in other fields of science, medicine, space, travel, and so on.  Without those who would question the concepts of the day we may never be privy to many of the advances that we have today.

     All our lives we need to question. We need to reach out for the satisfying answers that we deserve to know.  We should never stop looking at situations and asking WHY?

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"The only dumb question 

is the one you don't ask!"