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    Season of the ChameleonISSUE 05 / 13

    It wants to learn...

    Profile picture of Author Carlo Mahfouz
    Carlo Mahfouz | Aug 4th 2024
    Understanding underscores inquiry and not knowledge.

    The carnage endured by standing in the middle of the road waiting to be hit is nothing compared to how willfully ignorant we have become in understanding.

    • How did the answers mask the purpose?
    • How does the lack of understanding stifle change?
    • Where do we go from here?

    — The Lost Art. #recognize

    Sitting on a beach with so many kids this weekend reminded me of the nagging. The endless nagging. The stream of questions that never ends. Repetitive. Annoying. And most definitely not for everyone.

    But that’s our nature. As soon as we can blab our mouths run and the questions onslaught comes. We question almost anything and everything. The smart things, the stupid things, and the cute things. All are part of it and none is discriminated against.

    And then school starts. And one exam follows the other. From one score to another, we shift our attention to solutions and answers. We forget about the questions.

    We succumb to the machinery of progress reports and annual performance checks. Our lives become governed by the knowledge and the data points we have amassed. We hang them as trophies of accolades accomplished.

    We become experts.

    And as experts we preach. We present. And we push our thoughts. We earned to stand on the pedestal and showcase our expertise. Kids we are no more and as such we lost something we can no longer see.

    We lost the art of questioning. The marvel that sifts through the noise of knowledge unassuming and unapologetic. For it wants to understand. It wants to learn.

    — Knowing. #understand

    In knowing our ego thrives and understanding disappears. The more absolute our stance and predicament, the less open we are to understanding.

    I dread looking at the news these days to tell you what is happening. But no more feedback loops exist that nourish understanding.

    We either are barking downstream or complaining upstream. In neither, we take a moment to open ourselves to understanding — to search for problems and not solutions.

    To nag in front of the big mountains of truths we hide behind and dismantle them one by one incessantly. The end of all change starts with absolute truths.

    Mountain by Carlo Mahfouz.

    In the absence of seeking a problem, we dissolve into the bliss of the mediocre status quo. The winds die and the sailboat stops. In the salty waters under the scorching sun, it slowly decays and dies.

    — Risen. #accept

    Is it too late? Are we too deep into the far end? The optimist in me is keen that we rise. Kids we need to be again. Annoying in searching. Questioning continuously. And more than anything not so serious about it.

    And that is not to dismiss knowledge and the myriad of opportunities it created. Yet it would be remiss if we do not wake up to realize what got us here. Underscoring understanding always sits inquiry and not knowledge.

    The night came and the waves reigned. Crashing one by one the beach retreated into its solemn state until the next day came with more noise breaking its rhythm for life interrupts only to keep on living.

    Until next time,
    Carlo

    Previous
    I fell for it.
    Next
    Enlightened...
    Season of the Chameleon
    01
    It throws a fit...
    02
    I dreaded...
    03
    I lamented...
    04
    I fell for it.
    05
    It wants to learn...
    06
    Enlightened...
    07
    It's already broken...
    08
    The precious moment is...
    09
    From the hip...
    10
    Look up...
    11
    I don't resonate with you...
    12
    F*ck it...
    13
    Let's talk war...

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