Skip to main content

Letters to Sara - Curiosity

It has been said that curiosity killed the cat. There are lots of cat fables. Fables are an effort to distill a truth down to a simple lesson that is easy to remember. Whenever something gets simplified, it is easy for the point to be missed or the lesson to take on a different meaning than the intent. That comes from losing the context of the lesson. If you knew the story of the lesson, then you can understand the point more clearly. Curiosity is not something to be avoided. In fact, curiosity about things in life can be very useful. But taking risks to satisfy curiosity can be dangerous. A safer way to satisfy curiosity is to observe others. There is an unlimited supply of people who have tried almost everything life has to offer. We can learn from them. We can avoid many heartaches and pitfalls by doing so. The greatest use of curiosity is to drive us toward education. There is so much more we humans don't know than we know. But the sum of our knowledge is great. It would take many lifetimes to experience it. We can experience life in many ways through learning. There is a great satisfaction in wondering why or how something works, and then learning about it.

Popular posts from this blog

Maxwell Atticus Simon

Welcome to planet Earth. The little fellow weighed in at 8lbs 2 oz and 20 inches. I don't think he appreciates the attention he was getting at the moment. This was apparently during his weighing in and bath time. This is the time that they stick the heel for some blood work. Poor little fellow. It doesn't get much better for us. The Buddha said, "life is suffering." Ain't it the truth! But there will be some pretty nice moments. Witnessing the miracle of new life is one of the better ones. I am glad to see some males coming to the family. All those years outnumbered by the women of the house have taken a toll. Now maybe we can see some manly influence for a change.

Spock

Spock is my favorite character in all fiction. A character who bridged the gap between two worlds and faced disdain from each. Who strove for excellence and exemplified strength, character, intelligence, and control. His nearly emotionless demeanor was a perfect foil for those who would attempt to intimidate or insult him. It was a style I would endeavor to imitate to thwart those attempting to insult, demean, or scare me in my own young life. I bought this little figure to remind me to guard against letting my defenses down and allowing emotional hurt to strike me. But I doubt my recollection of Spock will work for me again. It was the last gift from my past. Perhaps I will find another reservoir of strength.

There is an African proverb that says "when death finds you, may it find you alive".

On July 31st, I died.... After having several weeks of discomfort in my neck and jawline, I made an appointment to see my PCP to determine what was going on. The consensus seemed to center around a gall bladder problem. But he suggested that we should rule out cardiac. Once I got over to the hospital, I had a wait of 20 minutes or more before I was sent up to my room. Immediately I was taken for a chest x-ray. Once I got back I saw my nurse and the lab tech were there and I lay down to let her get the blood. As I leaned back, I felt a wave of nausea and everything went quiet and dark.  I became aware again after a short period of time, I'm unsure how long. and from there it was a lengthy process to be transported to Grandview where I received a heart catherization and ultimately, bypass grafts. It was literally like hitting the off switch on your computer.