Curiosity.
I was listening to a Magic Lessons podcast from Elizabeth Gilbert yesterday as I went on a walk around the neighborhoods near my apartment. I've fallen in love with this podcast, because Liz talks about creativity and living beyond fear in a way that is just stunning and tangible and applicable and so motivating. In this episode, she advised this stuck artists to write letters that embodied the personas of Fear and Curiosity. She said to write them like they are alive and living within us and trying to win over our creative souls, telling us what they want.
Today, I want to write that letter and embody curiosity. To hear my thoughts on fear, here's a vlog from last week all about it!
Dear You,
My name is Curiosity.
I'm that tiny whisper you hear when new things catch your eye and pique your interest. You know me, you've met me a million times. Usually, you're afraid of me, and I get that. My best friend Unknown and I are together a lot, and people kind of get intimidated by us. We know we seem glued at the hip, but we just click really well. I promise once you get to know Unknown, she won't seem as scary anymore! She's really awesome and there's so much more to her than meets the eye.
Okay, anyway, this isn't about her. This is about you and I. I want us to be friends. I know you feel like I'm childish or silly or frivolous, and while that's a big part of me, I'm so much deeper than that too. My favorite quote is from C.S. Lewis (and I know you're a fan too) that says "there are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." You know that's true! All I'm asking is that you take a chance on me more.
Give me the opportunity to show you that you're capable of great, beautiful, wonderful things. Let me introduce you to Unknown and show you she is full of so much more than you can even dream about. Come play with me. Spend time with me. Embrace the whimsy. I just want to show you there's more and it's worth it.
I want you to pick up the paintbrush even though you say you aren't a painter. I want you to write in those big margins of your Bible and not worry about messing it up. I want you to step foot in the new coffee shop and say hi to the cute boy across the room and taste the new food and blaze the new trails. I want you to embrace me wholeheartedly. I'm a really good time, I promise! I'm so much fun to be around.
There's always something new with me, but it's not daunting but exciting instead.
I want you to read the books from the authors you love and the authors you've never encountered before and the authors you've heard mixed opinions about. I want you to study topics that excite you or interest you, even if they're totally wild and wacky. I want you to pursue those things, because those things are what I'm all about. I just want you to get to know me better so we can discover new depths and new heights and new ideas together.
You're talented and capable. You are an artist. You are a writer. You are a creator. I just want to bring you into more of those callings. I want to illuminate things you never noticed before to show you that there is goodness and inspiration there too.
My very name means "a strong desire to learn or know something" -- it's in my DNA.
I just want us to be best friends. I have more up my sleeve than you can imagine, dear one. I'll make you better in ways you never dreamed of. Take a chance on me. I know Fear is playing the devil on your other shoulder, and I get that, but life's a lot more fun with me. I'll show it to you, bit by bit, and it will blow you away.
I love you and I believe in you. Let's get closer.
