Curiosity

Curiosity can help us live richer, more vital lives. So how can we cultivate it? In this SuperAge podcast with my friend David Steward (founder of AGEIST), I discuss where curiosity comes from, how to fuel it, and what purpose it has in our lives.

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on how to meet more interesting people, I wanted to highlight New York Times columnist David Brooks’ recent article with nine tips for creating deeper conversations. If I didn’t know better, I might have assumed David had spent a week with us at MEA.

This seems like an odd choice given how stationary we are these days. I’ve chosen this for Friday Book Club for three reasons: (1) “Travel porn” is big these days. We want what we can’t have; (2) While far-flung travel is in hibernation right now, the “digital nomad” trend is growing big as people decamp from their habitual world and seek refuge elsewhere for extended stays (this is part of the reason we created our MEA Sabbatical Sessions);

When do you feel most untethered from what’s expected of you and most inspired by what’s inside of you? Why don’t we ask that question once a year as we approach midlife? Our habits can be like a drug, a distraction and anesthetic from what’s really going on in our lives.

Chip: We’re going off-script today with a Q&A with one of the most fascinating documentary filmmakers in the world. Yes, he’s written books but the visual feast of his films is what we’re going to discuss today.

I’m convinced that we start putting our armor on around adolescence as a means of coping with what we perceive to be a complex and dangerous world. By the time we arrive at “middlescence,” solidly in midlife, maybe it’s time we start disrobing from that armor?

Being smart is about having insightful answers. Being wise is about having catalytic questions. Most questions start with Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How? My friend and author Simon Sinek suggests we start with Why, but sometimes a “Why question” can be seen as disrespectful or lacking in empathy, especially when you’re questioning someone’s motives.

Some are calling it the Great Cessation. Others the Great Pause. But, below is a lovely brief video bedtime story dedicated to a future better than our past. Maybe it’s time to create our own parable during this time of paralysis?

In a recent post, I mentioned that I now schedule time in my calendar to “spy on the divine.” This isn’t easy to do while in quarantine, but one day I chose to just study an indoor plant for fifteen minutes. I used four of my five senses (didn’t taste it) to build a relationship with this plant whose name I didn’t even know.

“Physical Distancing” If you’re working from home for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing pandemic, you’re most likely going to be getting a lot more comfortable with video conferencing. Just because we can’t go out doesn’t mean we need to feel isolated. Isolation is fatal.