Saturday, February 4, 2012

Cat Food & Cookies

As children, we are taught the dos and don'ts of life as we begin to explore the new and interesting world set before us. As soon as we become mobile, the world is our playground. And, unfortunately, playgrounds come with rules.

Do brush your teeth.
Don't touch the hot stove.
Do use your please and thank yous. 
Don't pick your nose.
Do eat your vegetables.
Don't go near the stairs.

And yet, we've probably all done the opposite during our early childhood.
Why?
Insatiable curiosity.

And also because we were lazy, impolite, booger-munching monsters that DID NOT consider plants as food.
We were.

Now we're educated adults that understand veggies carry helpful vitamins and boogers are packed with germs. The tangible world has been explored, and we've learned meow mix actually doesn't taste that great.
Curiosity, in this sense, has been sated.

As a boring adult, I look back and wish to be submerged in a world where everything is new once more.
Don't we all?


I mean, burning my hand on the stove was incredibly painful. But before I seared my skin on those bright orange coils, the possibilities were endless. Perhaps, upon my touch, a pretty rainbow would appear with my little ponies dancing about. Or maybe it would grant me the ability to outsmart my older brother.

Not knowing was absolutely enthralling.


And now that I know, it's not nearly as fun.

It seems our whole lives, we thirst for knowledge.
We learn and experience and dabble.

Perhaps this is the reason for death.
When we know so much, the world becomes disinteresting.
So much knowledge leads to so much logic.
Outcomes become too predictable.
Life around us gets increasingly boring with age.

Wonder is lost.








And yet, in knowing this, or at least thinking I do, I say,

"To Hell With Logic!!!".

Was it logical to get a boyfriend at home right before I moved off to college?
Was it logical to move to Portland, OR for 9 months with pennies in my pocket?
Was it logical to plan a year + trip to Australia instead of finishing college?

I could go on, but the obvious answer is NO!


But these are the best decisions I've made in my life!
Why?
Because meow mix may be gross,
but those cookies in the cookie jar are DELICIOUS!
I wouldn't have known the outcome of any of these things
unless I gave into curiosity.
Logic tells me to stick with what I know, but curiosity tells me to touch the stove, taste the red goop they call ketchup, and move to the other side of the country.

There are so many lovely things in life that I'll never know unless I continue to explore with a child-like curiosity. Yes, I'm going to get burned. Yes, I'm going to be uncomfortably unemployed and homeless. But I'll also meet lifelong friends, sample thrilling flavors and textures, and discover buried treasure. I might even find rainbows with dancing ponies.


Or maybe even the ability to fly...

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