Stop to Question Everything

The Moth, The Mountains, The Rivers by Mary Oliver

Who can guess the luna's sadness who lives so

briefly? Who can guess the impatience of stone

longing to be ground down, to be part again of

something livelier? Who can imagine in what

heaviness the rivers remember their original

clarity?

 

Strange questions, yet I have spent worthwhile

time with them. And I suggest them to you also,

that your spirit grow in curiosity, that your life

be richer than it is, that you bow to the earth as

you feel how it actually is, that we- so clever, and

ambitious, and selfish, and unrestrained- are only

one design of the moving, the vivacious many.

 

This poem is about questioning; not necessarily to find out answers but to stay curious about the moment you are currently in!  I passed around the following questions in today's class that I got off thoughtquestions.com.  As you ponder them remember to ask yourself if your answer is true.  If it doesn't feel true, it's possible your ego jumped in with that answer.  If it feels true, the answer most likely came from your heart.

 

HOW OLD WOULD YOU BE IF YOU  DIDN'T KNOW HOW OLD YOU WERE?

WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT ALWAYS LEAVES YOU WANTING MORE?

IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A MESSAGE OUT TO A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO LIE WITHOUT SAYING A WORD?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY IF YOU KNEW NOBODY WOULD JUDGE YOU?

HAVE YOU DONE ANYTHING LATELY WORTH REMEMBERING?

DO YOU ASK ENOUGH QUESTIONS OR DO YOU SETTLE FOR WHAT YOU KNOW?

WHEN IT IS ALL SAID AND DONE, WILL YOU HAVE SAID MORE THAN YOU HAVE DONE?

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU TRIED SOMETHING NEW?

IF YOU HAD A FRIEND WHO SPOKE TO YOU IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOU SOMETIMES SPEAK TO YOURSELF, HOW LONG WOULD THAT PERSON BE YOUR FRIEND?

IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH?

WHAT IS ONE OPPORTUNITY YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW THAT YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN?

IF YOU COULD SPEND ONE WHOLE YEAR DOING ANYTHING YOU WANTED, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT BEING ALONE?

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?

WHO DO YOU LOVE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?

WHICH ACTIVITIES MAKE YOU LOSE TRACK OF TIME?

IF YOU COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING?

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO FORGET ABOUT SOMEDAY?

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU ARE TIRED OF SEEING ON TV?

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU LEARNED THAT BLEW YOUR MIND?

WHAT IS ONE PROBLEM YOU ARE THANKFUL YOU DO NOT HAVE?

WHAT MAKES A FRIEND UNFORGETTABLE?

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU AVOID?

WHAT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING YOU HAVE SEEN TODAY?

IF YOU COULD WRITE A NOTE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

WHAT IS ONE THING EVERY COUPLE SHOULD STOP DOING TO EACHOTHER?

Bottom of Form

 

Remember- questioning is not about the answer. It is about being present and allowing the mind freedom to explore without being controlled by the ego's answers.

“Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.”   ― Euripides


(PS.  The mantra we chanted in class today was Om Mani Padme Hum)

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