Remaining Intellectually Curious

One of my chief pursuits in life is to remain both spiritually and intellectually curious. This way, I find myself always learning something new. I decided this is something I wanted to do several years ago after visiting high school friends who, upon a few conversations, I discovered hadn't changed their opinions or minds on anything since they graduated from high school. The thought shocked and scared me.

There is something innocent about the pursuit of knowledge. In one way, it reminds us that we still have much to learn about life. We don't think we have all the answers and ultimately leave ourselves open to discovering them. Have you ever met someone who "knew all the answers" and remained clueless at the same time? These are people with old prejudices, various forms of "isms" attached to their opinions, and generally are cantankerous at the same time. What good does that kind of attitude do? It does no good whatsoever.

There is an old saying that says, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Actually this isn't true. You can teach any dog anything...if it actually want to learn anything. People are like dogs (sometimes).

One way you can discover your intellectual curiosity may be to enroll in school somewhere. Take a class on something. Or, you can enroll online at a host of colleges that provide online learning. Many of these courses are free but they offer no credit. If you're up to the challenge, go over to LifeHacker's post on Technophilia. The post will direct you to universities offering free online courses. There is a huge variety to choose from.

Another way can be participating in a few of our church activities. Soon, we will be offering a few Adult Education book studies over the course of this church year. We are looking at having a book study on the phenom book The Shack, by William P. Young.

Whatever you're interested in, let me encourage you to find new ways of learning old things or entirely new things altogether. Your mind, your attitude, and your well-being will thank you.