Looking for Answers

Ed. Note: I thought I posted this a few days ago. Wonder why it didn't happen?

Your mind will answer most questions

if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.

William S. Burroughs

Yesterday while waiting for the rest of my writing group to gather for our 9:30 meeting, I listened while a tutor helped a student. She explained to him the difference between a question and a statement. He caught on pretty quickly that a question needs an answer. Questions like "Where's your coat?" or "Are you hungry?" are fairly easy to answer. It's the hard life questions I have trouble with.

Then along comes Carol with a writing assignment. We are supposed to make a list of 100 questions. Anything from why does Sweetie move things around in the kitchen to why don't we furlough Congress to what does God do when he's on vacation. 100 is a rather daunting number of questions, but given 2 weeks I figured I could do it. As it turns out it is better to do it all in one sitting. I missed most of her explanation so I don't the whole point of the assignment.

I believe it is like the vision boards I wrote about the ladies making in the mountains. Somehow, through the power of the Universe, the pictures told a story that sometimes even the visionary didn't expect. BY asking the questions in one sitting, you give your brain/muse ample time to get the everyday questions about things that are bothering you, like when am I going to get the oil changed in my car? Maybe that takes up the first 30 or 40 questions. As you keep at it, says Carol, the deeper the questions will get. In the end, you might see a pattern or have a creative response to them.  When we come back together, we'll have part 2 of the assignment, so that's all I can tell you now.

Scratch all that. I got distracted by a crying baby and Barney - an ear-splitting combo - and didn't get this published. In the interim, Carol O'Dell wrote a post HERE. You may want to read it straight from her.

My first question will be when am I going to find enough time in one sitting to ask 100 questions?

Fast forward through the day to the time when Sweetie and I were eating dinner. He told me about a conversation he had with a social worker about talking to kids and getting them to talk back. I can't quote him, so I may not have it exactly right. She said kids as old as 10 or 12 cannot answer why questions. For example, ask a troubled kid why they just knocked the socks off the kid next to him and he won't be able to tell you. He/she will probably give the universal sign for  I don't know ... shrugged shoulders.  But say to that same kid, I can tell you're angry, let's talk about it, and you're likely to get a conversation going.

I found the whole thing interesting. I couldn't help but wonder why three times in one day, the topic of questions came up for me. It felt kind of woo woo. Naturally I asked Sweetie about it. He seemed to think I must be looking for a lot of answers in my life. I wouldn't have said that before the Universe brought it up, but I think maybe Sweetie may be right. I wonder what it is I'm wondering about.

Maybe finding the answers is as easy as asking the questions.
What's on your list of questions?
Merry ME