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Both Sides of the Question


I take great pleasure in asking questions.  I delight in my curiosity.  I experience it every day.  I am grateful for this delicious part of my personality.  I love to understand the how, why, what, and wherefore of a situation or problem. Questions are integral to my process.  They come naturally to my mind.   I see how they can help me and others function and progress in our world.  I love learning.

When someone asks me a question and I don't have a ready answer, I become anxious.  I berate myself for not knowing.  Until this morning I did not see this paradox in my attitude.  I am always willing to ask questions because I don't understand, yet expect that I should always have an answer when someone asks me a question.

If I truly already had ALL the answers, I could not and would not relish asking questions.   I would be a walking encyclopedia—a repository of information, but I would have no new vistas to explore. 

Learning a new skill, understanding how something works, helping a person develop a plan,  clarifying a problem, or guiding someone along their path are all vital to who I am and my greatest joy.   I could not teach if I could not learn.  I could not impart the need for curiosity and the desire for understanding if I did not possess it. 

All of life is a balance.   There can be no giving without receiving.  The idea of taking delight in admitting I don’t have an answer is new and might take some practice, but I am intrigued to try it.  I can envision jumping to the task of finding out the answer when asked a for a solution.  There is no shame in learning.  There is only pleasure whether I am asking the question, providing the answer, or joining the search.   

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