Curiosity & Courage

May 22, 2026

Curiosity is an act of vulnerability and courage. Researchers are finding evidence that curiosity is correlated with creativity, intelligence, improved learning and memory, and problem solving.~Brene Brown, Dare to Lead

One of my co-workers started a book club at the office, and we are reading Dare to Lead. The above quote inspired me to delve into curiosity and how it can help us navigate this life.

Curiosity brings creative awareness through openness, interest, and uncertainty. It leads us to ask questions, look closer, and learn something new. The uncertainty is about not being certain that we have the answers or understand the situation. Therefore, we seek to learn and understand, realizing that there is always more than what we can see or know.

Certainty feels safer. The older we get, the greater the challenge to step out of our comfort zones, admit that we don’t know, and try something new and different.

If we have raised children, we have experienced the world through their eyes and remembered what it was like to be a child. Children are naturally curious and eager to explore the world, uncovering new things, experimenting, and being surprised.

The empty nest has given me creative awareness of new space to explore. As I discover new ways to live and move and be, another version of myself is unfolding through curiosity, vulnerability, and courage. I have found more freedom and fun along the way as I have learned to play Mah Jongg, returned to the dance floor, and read a few romance novels for the first time in my life.

Staying curious and open will help us get through this difficult season. I’m feeling an increased sense of vulnerability and anxiety while I struggle to find courage and hope. There is more disinformation and distrust than there has ever been, and I am full of questions (and dismay). We can’t accept things at face value; there is always more to learn and understand. We must continue to question and listen and seek common ground.

In the past few years I have shifted my news and information sources from mainstream media to independent journalism, and this has opened up my curiosity even more. Independent journalism involves critical thinking, analysis, and curiosity, untethered from corporate interests and control. Therefore, it holds more truth, integrity, and freedom. It doesn’t mean I have to believe everything, but I can trust that it is not propaganda. By getting my information from multiple trusted sources, I can also ensure that I get different perspectives and viewpoints.

When curiosity and critical thinking are discouraged or dismissed, we lose part of our humanity. We lose our power and our compass when we allow others to dictate what we think, believe, and do. We’ve seen where this leads, in our present and our past, and it is devastating.

All that we seek to change in our world begins with our own thinking, our values, our actions - our lives. How we live and learn and love matters. We choose every day how we will show up in the world and what we will bring to it.

Free in Spirit, I am untethered from anxious or fearful thoughts. I ride the currents of grace – open to joy, inspiration, and infinite possibilities unfolding before me.

~Daily Word

Such openness takes courage when things feel scary, because we’d rather curl up in our own little corner of the world and stay safe. We have more courage than we realize when we show up in the world with joy, kindness, and generosity, and I see a lot of that these days. The world is upside-down and people keep showing up to help each other.

In my Yoga with Adriene practice, she often says, “Find something new each time” and “Find what feels good.” These are great principles to live by. Stay connected to that which is real, joyful, and life-affirming. Keep an open heart and mind, curious and receptive, and the currents of grace will carry you through this season.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. ~Matthew 7:7

Stay Calm & Curious,

ej

Elisa J. Juarez