My Father’s spirit…
My father turned 80 last year. His can-do attitude, his ability to keep learning, and his curiosity are inspirational to all of us. His decision to start his second PhD at 77 years old is a tangible testimony of this attitude. He is planning to submit his dissertation in September this year.
At the time that my father heard that he could study again, he reflected on his gratitude for the opportunity and referred to something he called “holy curiosity”. In an email to his study leaders, he wrote:
I thank my study leaders who awakened in me the holy curiosity about God’s trinity.
He talks about his respectful curiosity that reconnected him to the mystery of God. I remember him phoning me one evening with a child-like excitement about something he read as part of his studies on the Trinity. To put things in perspective: My father has been reading theology for the past 55 years, yet with absolute gratitude, he remains curious, excited and in wondrous awe of God’s mysterious being.
Since I was a child, my father’s perpetual can-do attitude and energy to learn have been contagious to those around him. This was not the case for my father, who, as an only child, was orphaned at the age of 20. At a time when many of us were only starting to explore adulthood, my father had only himself, his attitude and his mindset to rely on.
Knowing my dad, it was no surprise when he recently sent me a quote from Anthony Hopkins with his own reflections on the ability to keep living a life of curiosity. Accompanied by Anthony Hopkins’s quote was my father’s reflection on not letting the fear of time stop you from enjoying life and allowing passion to keep you going. For this, I honour him.
But let’s pause for a moment on the quote from Anthony Hopkins at the age of 87.
Age is not a barrier when you find passion in what you do. The real secret lies in keeping your curiosity alive, continuing to learn, and not letting the fear of time
stop you from enjoying life. Every day is a new opportunity to create, to laugh, and to show that it is never too late to move forward with enthusiasm and joy. Anthony Hopkins
Let us unpack this. The Jungian analyst, James Hollis, writes about the origin of the word enthusiasm. “Enthusiasm” derives from two Greek words, en and theos; directly translated, this means in (en) God (theos). Ancient Greek refers to this as divine inspiration. Enthusiasm can thus be described as a spiritual energy that is found inside each of us that connects to our experience of something or someone bigger.
This means that there is a daily opportunity for each of us to access our spiritual energy and ability – it is always there for us to tap into – even on the days we may find it difficult to do so. It is up to us; we can choose to be open to the possibilities of each day, what we can learn, and where we can find God. Yet, it is our fear of the unknown, of failure, and of time that often keeps us from having an attitude of holy curiosity and that steals our enthusiasm. We must not allow our fears to stop us from being curious, from learning, and from using every moment of our lives.
I am not naive about the fact that there are difficult moments in life; I am just hoping that we can keep on trying to choose a holy curiosity.
Holy Curiosity
For me, holy curiosity is part of soulfulness. To live soulfully is to be open in every moment, to discover, to learn, to sense your passions, while always being curious about your opportunities. Soulfulness is to be open to what God reveals to you; it is about finding meaning and beauty, despite your circumstances; it is absolutely about finding the divine inspiration and living with enthusiasm, in other words, living every moment in God …
Thus, soulfulness has a lot to do with our mindset to celebrate what is right with the world and be open to the possibilities offered to us in every moment, despite difficult circumstances, external pressure and so on. This doesn’t mean that we must deny our reality or ignore our difficult circumstances or external pressure – I speak to people in my practice every day with difficult circumstances that they didn’t necessarily choose – but I certainly hope and pray that we can find a sense of agency in any circumstance, and exercising a holy curiosity is part of this.
For me “holy curiosity” is part of Soulfulness …
Today, I am so grateful for my dad’s attitude of holy curiosity. To repeat the words of Hopkins:
Every day is indeed a new opportunity to create, to laugh, and to show that it is never too late to move forward with enthusiasm and joy!
So let us be curious and in every moment ask:
What can I learn here?
How am I in God in this moment?
What is my opportunity here?
I am reminding myself about a few simple things:
- We can live a soulful life by having an attitude of curiosity.
- I’ll do well to choose this attitude every day.
- Despite our circumstances, there is a divine spirit in each of us, thank God!
- I want to be an enthusiast in God.
- We can find an opportunity in each moment.
REFLECT
Where do you need divine inspiration in your life at this moment? Where do you need to find or choose a holy curiosity? Think about a moment where fear and uncertainty kept you from seeing possibilities. Make a few notes on this, or just find a few quiet minutes to reflect on this.
RESPOND
Choose this curiosity in a specific moment. Take seven days and remind yourself every morning to be curious and open to what you can learn. Go to that specific situation and say to yourself, “I choose curiosity”!
Try this:
Set a reminder on your phone for a specific time of the day for one week with the message: “Be curious”. See what happens …
Be Curious!
Let me know of your creative stories or soulful ideas at andre@besoulful.co.za.
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