What must life have been like for our ancestors, who had no other source of information but the world around them? Their experiences were there teachers; their elders their aggregator. They knew something was real when they saw, felt, smelled, or tasted it. Their hands were used to understand their environment, the direction of the wind their guide, the stars their anchor. What must that have been like, to be required to be alert and alive and one with nature to survive? Even then, despite not having the internet or the written word, they had stories. They drew pictures on walls they did not know would stand for centuries. We imagined worlds and scenarios and created traditions and had the deep need to share it with those around us. We sat around a fire and told each other tales from the secret corners of our minds, trusting that it would remain in the others they passed it to. We were created to be creators, simply for the joy of the act. I wonder if they felt the need to be remembered? If they worried about things like legacy, or were they just grateful to be alive for one more day?

We have so much information at the tip of our fingers today and yet so many of us have lost the desire to be curious. We pass on the work of thinking creatively to artificial intelligence as we slowly lose the real one we were born with. We are carving out the earth to make space for machines who will do the thinking for us. There is all this talk about legacy and power and wanting to be remembered and yet we do not make time to sit together and tell stories. We curate our lives to look beautiful on the outside, while we spend no time dismantling and rebuilding our beliefs on a regular basis. We are loud, spewing opinions a mile a minute, without taking a moment to listen and understand. All we want is to be heard, to be validated, to be seen without seeing. We’ve forgotten to inquire of the breeze, to ponder upon the stars, to wait on sunsets. It is all about the now, the instant, the KPIs.

Where have all the curious people gone? The Alices in their own Wonderlands, following white rabbits rushing off to meet the Queen. I wonder if we still take time to talk to weird twins with a codependency problem. Or if we have conversations with a sentient caterpillar smoking a hookah. Or a creepy cat with a smile that lasts long after it has gone. Have we gotten so consumed by consumption that we no longer take the time to notice?

My children are probably tired of me saying this to them, day in and day out. Curious people are interesting people! Be curious about the world because there is so much to know! You’ll never run out of things to know! The How, Why, Where, What, When of things is the horizon, and curiosity the intrepid explorer wanting to go beyond it. This is why artists are so close to my heart. I love people who take time to wonder what the leaves sound like, or how their movement looks on charcoal, or put their strange worlds down into writing. They are usually the curious ones, still pulling on strings they find in the corners of their minds.

Once you pull that string though, you need to be ready to sit with uncomfortable things. The journey of the mind can also be a really turbulent one, with upturned stones revealing things that are less than beautiful. The Hows and Whys and Wheres and Whens of the world can sometimes be dark and unsafe places. There will be Queens who constantly yell Off with her head! and they’ll have short kings that enable them and cards that will try to hold you down. And you’ll have to take a few bites of mushrooms to see just how big and how small you need to get to get out alive. Yes, curiosity can lead you to some strange places, and so you must travel wisely.

And what is wisdom, really? The anchor of curiosity; its tether to the real world. Socrates says wisdom is knowing that you know nothing, and so there must be no end to your desire to learn. If you don’t mind, oh wise Socrates, let me add as well: that wisdom is knowing that you know nothing, and being completely comfortable with that. Knowing there is no end to the rope and no bottom of the rainbow, and being content with the journey anyway. We are limited in our understanding, but not in our capacity to wonder. And so we must wonder. About the world. About people. About the here, and the afterhere. Don’t give up the gift of whimsy in exchange for convenience. Don’t ask Chat how, ask yourself why. Ask other people! Ask the trees! While we still have them, at least.

Wake up, Alice dear!