Midlife Creative

What does it mean to live life with curiosity?

Does your curiosity lead you to ask more questions?

Is your curiosity about other people, places and history strong enough for you to approach someone to ask a question or do you resort to asking Google? It’s so easy these days to find a quick answer on the Internet to the questions that pop into our heads. What would it take to go out of your way and ask another person your questions?

Reaching out to a real live person to ask a question is more rewarding because:

#1 – A person provides examples from their life and learned experience.

#2 – We are offered human connection and allow the person answering the question an opportunity to feel needed and knowledgable.

#3 – A conversation may lead to more questions and other rabbit trails that are just as important as the initial question.

Here are some examples of Living Curiously from our trip so far.

We found out that our airbnb host, Paul, also manages the Burke Mansion, a historic bed and breakfast in Macon, GA. Mark asked if he could show us around. Not only did he give us a tour, but also told us about his experiences living in Macon, gave us a list of places we should visit, gave the girls game tokens for the local arcade, and offered to bring us a few things that we were missing in our airbnb. This is an example of how a simple question, “Can you show us around where you work?” led to making a new friend and more.

Mark was curious about the history behind the band The Allman Brothers who lived and recorded their music in Macon. He was so curious that he took a deep dive into the history of the band, arranged personal tours, and has been talking to people in the area who knew the Allman Brothers. In the last week, Mark has toured the Big House where the band lived and worked and visited Duane Allman’s grave. The grave site led him on a rabbit trail when he noticed the angel statue at the foot of the grave with the name “Galadrielle”. He went to a local bookstore and found the autobiography Please Be With Me by Galadrielle Allman. Finally, he took the kids and I to H&H Restaurant where the Allman Brothers ate and became as close as family with Mama Louise, the owner of the restaurant, who they invited on tour with them as the band cook. Mama Louise just passed away the day we arrived in Macon. The restaurant continues in her memory.

I am particularly curious about the lives of other people. I tend to look to Instagram or Facebook to learn more about people instead of asking them directly to share about their lives. I want to get better at asking questions and have been looking for creative ways to do this and involve the kids. I created a board game called Story Hunt that will encourage the telling of life stories. Players will move around the board, asking each other questions and telling stories.

Examples of some of the questions are:

“Tell me about a time when you were surprised.”

“What was a day in history that stands out in your memory?”

“What makes a good friend?”

“Tell me about a time when you got lost”

I found a fabulous article called 38 Ways to Lead a More Curious Life by Ian Sanders. This article offers some great practical ideas for living curiously.

Here are a few more photos from our first week in Macon, Georgia. Thanks following our journey. Feel free to share this blog with others that you think might enjoy it!

Swipe Left to see the photo slide show