Curiosity Is What Makes the Cat Interesting

‘Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back.’ That is the entire saying. Provides a whole lot more context. 

Curiosity seems to fall between two poles: Wanting to know how something works, how it ends, what’s it made of and curiosity just to have an experience without any preconceived notions, ideas, or expectations of an outcome. 

Tools/Assignments: If you’re listening to this during the pandemic, please do this exercise from the safety of your bubble. If not, feel free to go outside. 

1.   Get a notebook and pen, or some kind of audio recorder (the one on your phone is fine) and I want you to imagine that random objects have a secret to tell you—their own secret history. Speak from their point of view, in their voice. These objects are speaking directly to you. Spend about 2-3 minutes per object. Once you’ve done this, I want you to have a conversation with the object or objects you’ve chosen. Let the conversation flow to its natural conclusion. Yes, it is mad awkward. But it’s a good curiosity reset. 

2.   If you have access to a magazine I want you to select a random photo (if not, pull up a random photo from the web) and I want you to give yourself sixty-seconds to study the photo. After the minute is up, I want you to take three minutes to write what happened five minutes before the events depicted in the photo and three minutes to write about what happened after the events depicted in the photo. This forces you to activate and deploy your curiosity. The thing about this exercise is that it seems like its end goal curiosity. But try it. I believe that you’ll find it has the opposite effect. 

3.   A final exercise. Taking the same photo as above, or get a new one, and give yourself a good minute to ninety-seconds to study the photo. At the conclusion of the time, using pen and paper or the recorder, I want you to describe the photo. What are the colors being used? The positions of people and objects—notice any juxtapositions? If you can draw, try to recreate the photo in a drawing. 

These exercises are designed to activate your curiosity. To have you let go and just play for a bit. 

Curiosity is an invitation to play. 

Remember, not everything is for everybody, but give it go. You may just be surprised.  

Until next time. 

Peace