What would happen if…? Is it possible that…?
There are thousands of ways to formulate a question. For those of us who are insatiably curious, questions are the fuel for the brain. They drive our core actions with a mind of their own.
Trying to understand things is one of the single greatest qualities of being human. Our brains have evolved to such an extent that deep, abstract thought is as pervasive as gas stations all over our planet.
And both serve similar purposes. A fueling station facilitates the ability for whatever vehicle we are traveling within, to go greater distance. Deep, abstract thought facilitates the ability for an inquisitive human being to travel further down a path of enriched knowledge and life experience.
When we encounter topics that venture further into the fringe of knowledge, we are faced with ever greater challenges to find a way to navigate into the unknown. Albert Einstein once said, “It’s not that I am so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” His ability to stay with problems longer gave humanity a much greater view of reality; far more evolved than any human being who had preceded him. He and his wife, (who may to this day, be an uncredited source for some of his brilliant work), were able to peer into the universe in ways that gave birth to the theories of general relativity as well as the distortions that are created in the space/time continuum. In fact, I was reading yesterday, that Einstein was proven right (once again) when scientists were able to observe X-rays that bent behind a black hole. I won’t dive into the amazing reasons why this is so fascinating. I will leave the article below to your perusal.
Behind the massive implications of an Einstein questioning reality, the person with the questions could be your parent, your bestie, your spouse, your child, your teacher or a perfect stranger. Questions can come at us from the most unlikely sources. Many of the questions are banal and pointless. Some have value. And an even smaller percentage can be so targeted as to deliver the key to your next thought, move, experience or other.
The question stems from a curious mind in most cases. I recognize there are other causes for questions, and I won’t waste your time in discussing them. The questions that fascinate me are the ones where someone is clued in on an aspect of something we are doing that causes them to potentially see an alternate option, or a flaw in our choices, or a new avenue of discovery that points us in a direction, heretofore either unconsidered or alternatively, unfollowed.
Perhaps, even more important than the question is what happens after the question arises. If the question stems from within, it may either be met with a metaphorical shrug of the shoulders, or an internal voice that stamps it out like vermin, or, in some cases, it sparks an insatiable itch. That insatiable itch is the single greatest asset of the human species in terms of our evolution. The massive…. WHAT IF? From that spark, we can trace quadrillions of things that have come to pass on this planet. Some good, some amazing, and some horrific. Questions do not always lead to improvement, they are equally capable of leading to unthinkable atrocities.
On a very personal basis, questions are the cause to kick our heels out of bed in the morning. What will today bring? How might I best pursue whatever is on my mind? If I am to explore X, will it take me to where I hope to grow into, etc. I would clearly proclaim that the very best work The Illusion Factory has ever produced, stemmed from the questions of our team. They are trained to evaluate the stimuli that comes from clients, society, technology, advancements in global processes and ask the really tough questions of one another. In a culture that permits anyone to question anyone else in a nonthreatening manner, growth accelerates exponentially. The culture has to start with “leave your ego at the door” policies and follow up with the mindset: just because someone is questioning what you are doing, does not necessarily make their question a criticism. That is a core truth that many fail to understand, accept and most importantly, to embrace. We are trained to fight rearguard against things that take what we believe to be so, and put out into the world a thought that is directly contradictory to what we believe to be so. It threatens our existence on some level, so we instinctively rebel. So questions must come with tact and diplomacy in order to really deliver their true value.
This is the biggest problem in the United States at the moment. If policies and agendas of a political party outweigh the desire for transparent truth, and an open discourse that explores facts in a scientific based method of evaluation and exploration, then the power of the question is crushed. Suddenly there are no values in questions because an agenda outweighs a desire to get to an indisputable truth. With an ignorant populous, whose life experience would preclude them from reading my musing today and understanding the core value of what is being expressed, feeling self-righteous based upon the spurring of whoever’s agenda that is guiding their thoughts and behaviors, an enlightened society can quickly crumble in the face of clear knowledge.
We are living in such a time. A time when intellectuals are being painted as negative and potentially damaging to our society at large by those whose agenda is in direct conflict with the greater good of society. This is why our world is going into CODE RED on climate issues. It is the reason why our behaviors could cause the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean to collapse and cause catastrophic outcomes that we cannot begin to imagine.
Questions have delivered humanity to this moment in time. More questions will catapult us into a future worth living in. Intellectuals are essential for the growth of humanity and without us, the rest of humanity will slip back into a society of servitude to the powerful. And intellectualism will be suppressed on all levels.
We continue to live in a time and place on Earth where the choice is still ours. It is a freedom that most of our predecessors on this planet fought with every ounce of their beings to create. It pains me to watch our nation tremble under the continuous weight of agendas having sway over the overall benefits of humans in general and the planet at large.
Listen to the questions…. They are sometimes delivering us to places we might never have ventured. Both personally and as a specie at large.
If you like what you are reading in the blog, you will even love the book more. Take a free preview below and watch the Sizzle Reel. It will give you a sense of how this book might be of help in your life when you are looking to make some tough decisions.
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