Meddlesomely Curious: A Service to Humanity

“Curious” is sometimes a euphemism for “nosey” isn’t it? It’s a polite way to indicate that someone's need to know borders on the impolite. But those impolite answer seekers are people we depend on to help to understand our world. Non-fiction writers (and their readers), journalists, researchers, interviewers, historians, anthropologists—they all make their living getting into other people’s business.

Having worn all those hats at one point or another, I just pled guilty to 7 counts of occupational nosiness.

My favorite topics are those that make people squeamish, giggly, or both. I love stories of virginity lost or given away, first dates, bad dates, birth stories, pregnancy stories, embarrassing moments, arch-rivalries gone too far. But the most precious jewels in the chest of things-people-don’t-like-to-talk-about are the mundane unseen things: How do you pray? How do you hold onto faith when you feel hopeless? What songs make you happy? What are you most proud of? If you could do over any one moment, what would you do differently? How come doing it the way you did makes you a better version of who you are?

Resilience, religion/spirituality, loss, gain, hope, fear. I think what Team Curious really would like to say is:

“Hello, fellow human. Is this whole life thing jostling you around as much as it is me? If so, what are you doing about that?”

We want a road map. It may not be the path we choose to follow ourselves, but we want to know that being human and thriving through mistakes and overcoming all the mess life can throw at us is possible. We want to know that the grass really is the same green everywhere.

So, we ask the "impolite" question. We shamelessly mind your business. Our service to humanity is to remind ourselves and each other that we're all (what are we at eight now?) eight billion shades of human. And that is perfectly okay.

You're welcome. ^_^