A child asks why.
A child asks how.
Then somewhere along the way, the world teaches many of us to stop asking.
But those two questions were placed inside us for a reason.
They are keys.
There is an old story about a young girl watching her mother prepare Thanksgiving dinner.
The mother took out the turkey and cut off the bottom portion before placing it in the pan.
The little girl asked:
“Why do you do that?”
The mother answered, “It makes the turkey juicier. I learned it from my mother.”
The little girl then asked:
“How does it do that?”
The mother did not know.
So the little girl went to her grandmother.
“Why do you cut the bottom off the turkey?”
Grandmother gave the same answer.
“It makes it juicier. I learned it from my mother.”
Still not satisfied, the little girl went to her great-grandmother.
Great-grandmother laughed and said:
“We didn’t have many pots and pans back then. I had to cut the bottom off so the turkey would fit.”
There it was.
The truth.
Not tradition.
Not mystery.
Not some secret cooking method.
The pan was too small.
THE POINT
Many things are handed down to us.
Customs.
Beliefs.
Habits.
Opinions.
Methods.
Rules.
Sometimes they are useful.
Sometimes they are misunderstood.
Sometimes nobody remembers where they came from.
And before long, people are repeating things they do not understand.
Why?
How?
Those questions matter.
BECAUSE IS NOT AN ANSWER
Children know this instinctively.
They ask questions.
Why is the sky blue?
How does the ocean know where to stop?
Why do people die?
How does a baby grow?
Why do birds fly?
How does the moon follow us?
These questions are not interruptions.
They are signs of life.
Signs of wonder.
Signs of intelligence waking up.
But too often, children are silenced.
“Because.”
“Stop asking.”
“That’s just the way it is.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
But because is not an answer.
It was never an answer.
THE MUSCLE OF INQUIRY
What happens when a muscle is not used?
It weakens.
It shrinks.
It loses strength.
The same can happen to our ability to inquire.
If the why and how inside us are repeatedly ignored, dismissed, or mocked, they begin to quiet down.
Not because the questions disappeared.
Because the person learned not to ask.
That is a dangerous thing.
THE DUMBING DOWN
When we stop asking why and how, we stop growing.
We stop exploring.
We stop discovering.
We stop using the talents and abilities placed within us.
Then we wonder why life feels dull, confusing, or incomplete.
Perhaps we did not follow our inner instructions.
Perhaps we allowed the world to talk us out of wonder.
THE SWITCH COMES ON
Have you ever been inside for hours, then stepped outside into fresh air and sunlight?
Suddenly the senses awaken.
Light.
Sound.
Air.
Movement.
Everything feels alive.
That is what happens when you begin feeding your why and how again.
The inner switch comes on.
The mind sharpens.
The spirit wakes.
The soul becomes curious again.
WHY AND HOW DEVELOP IDENTITY
Your questions reveal you.
What fascinates you?
What bothers you?
What do you keep returning to?
What do you want to understand?
These are not accidents.
Your why and how help develop your identity.
They introduce you to your talents.
They help uncover your calling.
They guide you toward meaning.
YOUR PERSONAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM
Each person is given an inner navigation system.
Common sense.
Conscience.
Curiosity.
Discernment.
Wonder.
These are not small things.
They are tools.
They help us search.
Learn.
Test.
Understand.
Grow.
But they must be used.
An unused compass cannot guide anyone.
ASK AGAIN
Start asking questions again.
Ask about what interests you.
Ask about what troubles you.
Ask about what you do not understand.
Ask many sources.
Observe.
Listen.
Compare.
Reflect.
Do not be discouraged by impatient people.
Sometimes their impatience reveals that they stopped asking long ago.
Do not let that become you.
PAY INTO THE SYSTEM
As you use your why and how, something wonderful happens.
Others begin asking you questions.
Then you have a chance to help them.
To share.
To encourage.
To guide.
To pay into the same system that helped awaken you.
That is how wisdom travels.
One question at a time.
THE PAYOFF
Someone went to great trouble placing wonder inside you.
Someone gave you the ability to ask.
To search.
To reason.
To discover.
Do not waste that gift.
Why and how are not childish.
They are sacred tools.
They keep the mind alive.
They keep the heart open.
They keep the soul searching.
Ask why.
Ask how.
Then keep going until truth answers.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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