Curiosity & Age

Are we, once we slip out of Childhood, supposed to stop being curious? 

My Four-Year-Old, who will stealthily transition to becoming a Five-Year-Old in less than an month, is increasingly curious about all things.  Nothing and no question is out of bounds.  His creativity and imagination are sources of priceless questions: some I can easily answer; some I cannot answer; but all of them are welcome.

I tell my Son: keep the questions coming Buddy; this is how we learn.  If you keep asking questions, whenever curiosity kicks in and you want to learn more about any subject, concept, process, etc., before you know it you will have great knowledge. 

Then, I think to myself, if he, any child, or even us, would not hesitate to ask questions, or conduct immediate research and inquiry to close any knowledge gap that comes to our attention, we would in no time have great knowledge.  If we would all continue this worthy goal and process throughout our lives we would never stop learning.  We would never get bored.  We would continue to grow - and I think that's what life is all about - throughout our lives.  Middle-Age is not an excuse to stop asking questions and learning; and retirement is not an excuse to stop asking questions and learning.

My Father is 84-Years-Old.  He espouses this philosophy.  He always has numerous books at his bedside for periodic reading on diverse subjects such as Calculus, History, Philosophy, etc.  Last year he mentioned to me the possibility of and his desire to get a Part-Time Job.  Age is no excuse.  In fact, my Father conveys that all of his friends who retired extremely young and who both did not work, volunteer, or have a passionate hobby to sink their teeth into, all died young.  The mind when not challenged and stretched will give in to atrophy; then rapid aging; towards a slow death.  The mind when kept curious, seeking knowledge, challenged by new ideas and concepts, continues to grow and stays sharp.

Recently my Son has out of nowhere offered the following inquiries:

• Who created God?
• What are trees made of?
• How does the lightening cause the power to go out?
• What does an engine do?  How does it do it?

I always tell my Son keep asking questions; if I don't know the answer (quite common!!) we will research together to find us the answer.

The Joys of Parenthood.

Curiosity is a good thing.  I hope my Son is still seeking answers to great questions when he turns 100.