Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
If you’ve ever had children, you know that they ask questions constantly. You probably found it cute at first, and then it progressed to being a frustration, as the answers became more difficult to explain, and were less accepted by the recipient.
One of my favorite from our early parenting years was a well thought out question by my then 7 year old…
“Why am I real”?
Which prompted more questions, and even more questions. What started as an innocent thought gave way to a fantastic dialogue that flowed through issues of existentialism, spirituality, what constituted life and so on.
What really brought joy to my heart was to realize that each answer spawned more questions, and that he was probably never going to be satisfied with my answer.
And I’m perfectly ok with that.
I’ve been thinking lately about the way that questions move us, while answers seem to stop us still. In aviation, a waypoint is a fixed point that you travel through on your journey to your eventual destination. I think answers are kind of like our waypoints.
We have to move through an area of understanding (gained by finding an answer) but the answer is never the destination, it’s just a part of the journey.
In all honesty, it’s the questions that move us forwards.
Because a question demands that you do something to find the answer. You can’t just wait around for knowledge to distill upon you, because the universe demands a price for its secrets.
That price is usually negotiated in struggle, sacrifice and patience, all wrapped up in a determination to go beyond your present now, and a willingness to face the uncertainty in your soul.
And the question allows to you find out for yourself.
Because we all trust the answers that we have generated for ourselves, over those which are given to us. Whenever I am helping people make a massive shift in their lives, I try to ask the questions that will lead them where I feel they need to go, even if it’s only to face the conflict inside themselves that they are unwilling to encounter.
The right question, at the right time, can move emotional mountains.
Today, if you feel stuck in an area of your life, I invite you to reflect on the questions that you are asking yourself. Because somewhere, deep in the back of your mind, is the answer that you are seeking that will be the waypoint to your next breakthrough, but you have to ask the right questions to seek the answer out.
I promise you, the journey will be worthwhile.
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings