Blog
20, Oct. 2020
HOW DOES ONE TEACH CURIOSITY?
What is it that moves us forward? What is it that holds us back? Sure, a feeling of desire or ‘need’ can move us in directions of acquiring, but real forward momentum is fueled by curiosity. Forward momentum is created by being engaged in the discovery of the process, not by the ‘fixed’ vision of an end goal.
I’ve met a lot of work-a-holics that have their eyes set on a distant goal and are persistent with their effort, yet they seem to be trudging along. They are missing that youthful fervor and ‘bounce in the step’ of someone that cannot wait to see what’s around the corner.
What is it that moves us forward? What is it that holds us back? I know that I can be limited in how far I run or how I move when playing basketball with my sons because of the fear of increasing back pain and maybe limiting myself in these scenarios is wise. Yet, this attitude of fear and protection can seep into too many of our decisions, it can begin to limit how we view the world. ‘Curiosity can get me into trouble, I should just keep doing only what I can safely do’. This becomes a subconscious mantra that precedes our actions and undermines our vision.
And this is an uncertain time. Employment and financial security are unknowns. The safety of our health is unknown. Maybe we should remain guarded and cautious. Maybe we should not just shelter in place physically but take our spirit and tuck it away, you know, for safety.
But this habit of being guarded and protective can overflow into our muscle tension, our emotions. It keeps us tight and skeptical. It feeds our pain and discomfort because it is like driving with our brakes constantly engaged. The friction and heat of indecision or conflicting motivations.
So, how does one inspire or facilitate curiosity? How can we develop and enhance this trait in ourselves? Well, curiosity is fed by a sense of awe, by intrigue, by looking at the world to see what it is saying today and not by expecting it to remain a static story of yesterday. Imagine living in a black and white world, without color, and one day, in the distance, there is a field of peach colored tulips. It is this sense of ‘newness’ that creates the intrigue and delight in us that will inspire our curiosity and motivate us to keep walking to discover this newness.
Say your physical therapist introduces a unique movement to you that changes how you carry the framework of your posture and you discover that you can now stand without pain or look to the right with greater ease and greater range, and it no longer feels guarded, it feels fluid and pleasant and this feeling of ease and grace is the something new - that if we focus on it, it can inject us with just enough curiosity and appreciation to move us forward.
An experience of grace in movement. An experience that painfree movement is possible or to feel that a sense of grace is not just for the ballerina, it is our choice in how to ‘posture’ and how to move in the world. Moving with grace is moving with investment in the moment. It is making the moment count and finding enjoyment and novelty right where we are. It is this novelty and awe that inspires us and drives our curiosity to move forward. A curiosity of ’W
hat else is possible?’
A curiosity to encourage us to walk a little further, to pick up a new hobby, to change our perspective, to leave behind the guarding and protection because something else is calling us, something far too interesting to disacknowledge, something we can approach.
This is the goal of physical therapy. This is the goal of today. To be engaged in the process of what is possible.