Curiosity.

Sheer curiosity drives me.

I can people watch for hours on end and never be bored.

It is the number one reason why I will strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere, and at anytime.

I want to know more about who they are as a person.

Why?

Why am I so curious about people when some of those people are shitty and do shitty things and treat other folks badly?

Because I believe that we are all one; and thus deserve to be treated and acknowledged as equals and from divine source. Sometimes this is easy to forget. I've been acutely aware of impatient behavior while I'm out driving.

People honking their horns, or yelling obsenities out the windows, or tailing another driver because they aren't moving fast enough, etc. The list goes on as I'm sure you know, and who knows? You could be reading this and are one of the above impatient ones.

When I witness this, I often think to myself, how quickly we forgot; two years ago this time we were in the beginning of Covid. We had no option other than to practice patience and treat each other with kindness, respect, compassion, love, and friendship.

How does this relate to why I'm curious? Because, being impatient on the road translates to being impatient in other areas- one of them is staying curious about your fellow neighbor- regardless if you know that person personally or not.

Put yourself in their shoes. Start to become like a treasure hunter looking for something shiny that you can wrap your hand around. I'll give you the rundown of how I operate while I'm out and about. This example is from yesterday as I was out running errands.

I park at Dino's Park & Shop, walk over to the outdoor flower section, and catch the woman's eye who's been out there for over an hour. I know this because I drove by earlier to go to another store and saw her. I smile at her and comment on how she has the best job ever; working outside in the nice weather with plants. She says she loves it because the plants don't talk back.

What did I learn from her? She likes to work for someone, yet likes to be independent in the job she has- hence- the outdoor flower department. She was in her element, smiling, happy, and loving every minute.

Next aisle? The pet food aisle- my favorite. There's always something new I want to get for my animals, and today was no exception. I stand next to an older gentlemen who is stocking the cat food shelves. I comment on how cats are the rulers of the house and how we humans are their minions. He immediatly starts talking about his cat that he lovingly called, 'trouble'; telling me how "trouble would never jump up on anything and so I had to pick her up everywhere and she turned out to be the best most sweetest cat ever".

I ask about the food he is stocking and he smiles as he remembers how Trouble loved the food. Without hesitation I reach out and grab a case of the food smiling the whole time knowing that this older man loves working in the pet food section because it reminds him of how his cat Trouble brought him so much joy.

The entire trip to Dino's Park & Shop went like this. There was the woman who smelled amazing over at the dairy aisle and I found out the soap she uses which then led me to the website of the soap she uses.

Then there was the second older gentleman over in the bread aisle who had the most fantastic cane decorated with medals of some sort. I learned all about how he found the cane, his travels to Germany with the cane, and how he ran over it with his tractor and then fixed it so he could continue to use it.

Finally the check out folks, first the bagging person- I noticed her trying to get all the things perfect in the bags, so I got right in there to help and said that it didn't need to be perfect as I lived not that far away. She relaxed and from then on (I hope) felt less pressured.

The woman who rang my order had on a beautiful emerald necklace which I commented on her necklace; she happily began in on the story of how her boyfriend found the ring to match. We chatted and she laughed when I gave a hollar of hell yeah! as my order was below the amount I'd said it would be.

Here's an excerpt from The Quiet Mind, by White Eagle.

Man is Divine

In the spheres of light, men are tranquil, with shining, God-like faces. Every piece of work is executed perfectly, and the effort of all is applied to further the happiness of the community. Always in your inner selves and your quiet moments, you can rise into this perfect life and receive from those who dwell there the inspiration to live likewise on earth. Don't make the excuse that man is only human. With all the force of the truth that is in us, we say, we know, that man is divine.

My prayer is this: Help me stay curious, patient, compassionate, kind and loving to my fellow neighbor realizing that we are one.