A Lesson in Curiosity Through the Eyes of a Child

Remember the days when we had to push a pole into the ground to measure how much water was left for showers? Or is that just me? 

Imagine an 8-year-old girl charging into the middle of the yard, plunging a long wooden staff four times her size into the ground like Poseidon striking his trident. Then, the grand reveal of pulling the pole out to discover exactly how much water remained. It was thrilling. I never wondered where the water came from because I knew it came from my grandfather’s water truck. 

I also had an essential role in this operation: standing on a folding chair at the firehouse, feeding quarter after quarter into a giant machine like I was playing a high-stakes arcade game. The prize? Gallons of water! Then we’d drive the precious cargo home, and my grandfather would pour it into the cistern that I’d measure weekly. 

You’d think all this would have sparked a curiosity about how all of that water gets to that fire station in the first place, but it didn’t. I wasn’t curious about it at all. It just seemed normal. I assumed everyone did the same. 

Fast-forward a few decades, and I recognize that this experience wasn’t the standard among my friends. Most assume water magically appears from a tap, and that forgotten art of stick measurement has faded into obscurity.

Life on the farm gave me many quiet moments—most often tied to important chores, like how to delicately collect the eggs without angering the hen. The maneuver was a work of art. My little hands carefully reached and felt for the bumps in the straw and sawdust. I learned the rhythm of the hen’s movements, the tones of her clucks and the particular way the eggs rested on their sides. 

Through these observations, these moments of patience, I began to cultivate curiosity. Not the kind that leads to grand scientific discoveries but the inquisitiveness of an 8-year-old who notices the little things—like timing the perfect moment to pick up the egg without getting pecked.

It wasn’t until I had my own child that I fully appreciated the concept of curiosity. My young son asks questions about everything—serious questions, imaginative questions, sometimes questions that make me question my own perspective. Suddenly I’m seeing the world through a new lens with a renewed and heightened sense of curiosity. Thanks to my son, I have an awakened sense of wonder in noticing the little things and measuring life’s mysteries with whatever stick I’ve got handy.

Curiosity isn’t something we’re born with or even lose over time, although it is frequently numbed by omnipresent screen life. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to ignore life’s simple magic, but curiosity can change that. It has the power to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary, simply by slowing down. 

Observe life intensely; you might be surprised by what you discover. Embrace curiosity. Let it guide you to notice, to explore and to rediscover the familiar. You never know what you might find.

Be curious, my friends.