What if?
Hello Universe 192
Curiosity is so inherent to life itself. Without it, no living creature would venture outside its familiar environment and evolve into something better over time. As humans, we've taken curiosity to a whole other level by harnessing it to create an advanced world of our own.
Children often display the purest form of curiosity, often asking questions that seem to hold no meaning, but which make us question some very fundamental beliefs of our own. Back in December 2021, when Hello Universe was just a 10 month old newsletter, I was attending a wedding function. That evening, the sky was full of many vibrant colors, and a cousin's daughter started asking me questions about the sky and the colors that show up on it. The questions kept on mounting and we started discussing many fundamental scientific concepts, and I realized how her powerful curiosity was helping me look at the world in a new way.
It is now December again, Hello Universe is now almost 4 years old, and I'll attend another wedding function this month. I'll be ready to field many new questions from the kids from the family, hoping to quench their curiosity and explore mine.
Today's poem is all about this innate human curiosity.
Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!
"What if the moon was made of pies?" "What if potatoes could wear ties?" "What if cats could drive a bus?" "And what if robots envied us?" We humans dream up such delight, a million "what ifs" in a single night. "What if sharks had tap-dancing feet?" "What if rain tasted like bubblegum sweet?" We marvel and giggle at worlds unseen, at castles of jelly and oceans of green. We build these realms in our curious heads, while wrapped up snug in our warm little beds. We ponder the weird, we dream the absurd, our minds take flight like a soaring bird. But here’s the thought I just can’t dismiss— Are humans are the biggest "what if" there is?
That’s it! Thanks for reading edition 192 of Hello Universe.
Gotta get back to hanging out with family in that wedding function now. See you next Tuesday!
My favorite poem so far. Sorry I have been absent but there are always battles to fight, inside and out. It's also been a hard time politically for me and my friends. I live in a liberal state in the US but even I am questioning my community's values. Being vulgar, impulsive, violent and greedy seem to be in vogue. I hope I live long enough to see the pendulum swing back to education, trust and community. Happy Holidays!
Curiosity is the first step towards invention.