I Have No Idea…

I used to have a lot more answers than I have now. It’s like that Bob Dylan song, “I was so much older than I’m younger than that now.” Or maybe it’s because NOW I know there is so much more to know than I will ever know even to ask questions about.

Today is the open house for the little art show at the museum, and I’m not going. I don’t want Covid again. That was — and continues to be — a real drag. I mean, just now, I put a rawhide stir stick into my coffee for Bear and then I put in another one as if only seconds before I hadn’t already done that. Every day I do what I can as therapy and healing for that and we’re getting somewhere, but if I’m tired, preoccupied, or emotional, all bets are off.

I remind me of my stepson when he was a little guy getting ready for school. It took him forever to put on two socks. He’d put on a sock, get distracted by something, study whatever had captured his attention then look for the sock he’d already put on. It drove his stepdad crazy, especially when Ben put the second sock on the same foot as the first sock.

We ask “Why?” a lot of times when it doesn’t really matter. I do and then I have to step back and think, “What do I really need to know here? Is it ‘why?’ or something else?” We look for motives often when we need to look for solutions, especially when something seems completely irrational.

A question can be very interesting but the answer totally anti-climactic. When I was in my 40s I looked much, much younger. It’s a genetic blessing from someone — I think my paternal grandma. My students would get very curious about how old I was, but thought it was rude to ask. The question would burn with some of them and I always said, “I’ll tell you, but the answer won’t be that interesting to you. Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

I was right about that. The answer WASN’T very interesting, maybe, even, disappointing. “41.” “Oh.”

Other questions? Most recently the question someone didn’t even know to ask turned out to have a fascinating answer and that was Ultramarine Blue from Lapis Lazuli. A friend bought a painting for her mom and now her boyfriend doesn’t think they should give it away because of the ultramarine blue. I know he would get VERY interested in the history of that color, but so far no one has asked and while I CAN pontificate with the best of them especially about paint, I’m waiting until I’m asked.

I really loved teaching Critical Thinking, which I did for more than 20 years. I learned a LOT from that and maybe my students did, too (don’t know). Critical Thinking is basically “how to ask questions” and “what questions to ask.” One of the benefits of that was learning that there are just some questions that will always evade a clear answer. Human behavior falls — for me — in that category. Why? You might well ask. 😉

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2022/12/10/rdp-saturday-question/