CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT?

When I went to college, I chose to enroll in a philosophy class for one of my general credit courses. On the first day, the professor went through the syllabus, as was the normal procedure. It was what he said afterward that struck a chord with me, though. He said something along the lines of this class is going to push you to explore past previously set in stone beliefs. The professor went on to explain how he’d had students drop the class mid-way through the year because it wasn’t acceptable in their religion to question their beliefs. The class was causing discord with their religious community or with their parents. I was so amazed at this concept that I remember it clear as day 12 years later.  Honestly, it seemed like a typical philosophy class to me. There weren’t any specific sections that took religious views head-on or anything, so I’m still left to wonder how the class would be so bad that you had to drop it for those reasons.

My parents were members of a strict religious organization. I completely understand how constricting religions can be and how, in my experience, the organizations do not want you to question too deeply any of their “laws/rules.” They want you to have faith that their interpretation of scriptures written long ago is precisely how God/Jesus wanted us to live. I, personally, have always had a problem with this concept. To clarify, I do not have a problem with Jesus/God or any other religious icons, but more with the modern-day human interpretation of their teachings. The religious communities that I grew up in were not accepting of all people. I’ve sat in churches where the congregation sends you sharp very annoyed looks when your baby sister happens to make a couple of cries throughout the service. I have sat at holiday masses where the ministers have made slight jabs about those practitioners that only show up for the big masses, like Christmas and Easter, but fail to show up to church every Sunday. These are just small infractions. There are so many bigger issues like how homosexuals that dare to reveal their sexual preferences are viewed as individuals in need of lots of prayer because their current life choices are damning them to hell. Homosexuals were not welcome at any of the churches that I attended growing up. I strongly disagree with these interpretations of the bible. They wanted us to believe that Jesus/God would not accept these individuals in heaven. This is the same Jesus that ate with the despised tax collectors and prostitutes?  The pure religious icons that I believe in would not disrespect a faction of the human race just because they have different beliefs. They would embrace each individual with unconditional love and humility while wanting us to learn from each other and celebrate our differences. Also, human beings are imperfect. We all make mistakes, and from my experience, the person making the mistake oftentimes does not want to draw attention to the fact that they made one, so they let it stand as it is. We are often discouraged, sometimes even ostracized for questioning an organization’s “beliefs, rules, policies” when these things do not seem right to us. So these beliefs, rules, policies are passed down from one generation to another.

If you’ve read any of my other blogs, you’re most likely coming to find out that I am a curious independent individual. I despise being told what to do or even more how to think. Especially, when these concepts don’t fit with what I know in my heart to be true about our Lord/Buddha/Allah/HaShem/Mother Earth, or whomever you believe in.   Have you ever heard the idiom “curiosity killed the cat?” I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard this exact phrase countless times in my life. The interesting thing about it is that the phrase has changed quite a bit when you follow it through its history. According to Penlighten.com, the phrase originated in 1598 in an English Poet’s, Ben Jonson, playwright in a line that contained “care will kill a cat” in which care was defined as sorrow or worry. Somewhere along the way the idiom morphed into “curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back” and then into the more modern-day “curiosity killed the cat”. I’m not the least bit surprised about the current incarnation of the phrase, and how perfect does is describe those college students that ended up quitting their philosophy class. Please pause for a moment and think about which version resonates as truth with you. Which version of this phrase represents how you’ve lived your life up to this point?

While on my own journey of self-discovery the past two years, I received a great piece of advice from my aunt that has really stuck with me.  It goes something like this, “You’re going to be told a lot of different things on the path that you are on, sift through the information and take in what resonates with you and discard the rest.”  I feel like as unique individuals, we should all explore and discover what truly resonates with us. These ideas we have discovered to be our truth can then be the foundation of our belief system. As adults, I think the key is to stay mindful and be aware of how our surroundings, whether it be everyday conversation, tv, music, sports, electronics, etc. play an integral role in forming our thoughts, beliefs, and actions. I think it's immensely important to do the internal work so you have a strong understanding of who you are at the foundational level. Remember to stay curious about feelings that emerge because they are a sign your unconscious mind is reacting to what's going on around you. I think it’s important to teach our kids these same things. I feel it’s imperative for them to be encouraged to stay curious and comfortable asking their questions on things until it makes sense to them vs. just doing what they are told because they are told to. I also think encouraging them to have time for self-reflection is important. These are my goals for my children, anyway because someday, ready or not, they will be adults out on their own making decisions for themselves. I’m hoping that by that time, they will be strong confident people fully aware of who they are and fully able to trust their own intuition about matters. I’m also aware of how beliefs for an individual can change as they go through life collecting more experiences under their belt and I think this is wonderful. Can you imagine how boring our lives would be if the things we thought were set in stone beliefs at the age of 18 were the exact same beliefs we had at 80? That being said, I’m hoping my confident children do enroll in classes or participate in organizations that encourage them to step outside the box and test their foundational beliefs because I personally feel that we should test our belief system from time to time. If your beliefs hold up to the scrutiny and still resonate, then you can be even more confident in its authenticity. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to release that old, possibly limiting, belief and adopt a new one that better resonates with the person you are now. I hope the same for you all as well and I want to leave you with this final thought.  

“We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, maybe the very reason why you don’t have something better.” ― C. JoyBell C.

Love,
Yara Rose