“We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious … and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney
I love Disneyland! My girls and I just concluded a three day visit at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. We stayed on property so we could enter the park early in the morning and enjoy the cool awakening of this magical place. Despite having fully memorized the layout over the past nearly 17 years, my girls still love to pick up a map. They are not alone. I saw many families around us walking down Main Street with their heads buried in a map including the digital version on their smartphones. I love watching our guests, especially the little ones at the beginning of the day when they are full of anticipation and energy. Their little arms struggle to stretch out the map in front of them as they bounce with excitement. It’s contagious! As they scan the map, their eyes tell a story of the wonders, adventures and discoveries that await them. There is something powerful about exploring new possibilities, mysteries and experiences. You can feel it too, can’t you?
We are curious creatures. It begins early as we try new things. Sights, sounds, smells, textures. They all fascinate us and pull us like a gravity to explore more. We ask, “What is this? How does it work? Why is it here? Is there more to this?” We peer into the small, the quantum world, asking if it can be even smaller. We gaze into the heavens and ask how far does it go and is it even bigger. Our insatiable curiosity launches discovery, plunging to the depths of the sea and flying to the surface of other worlds. Our eyes are hungry for discovery and our minds are thirsty for excursions. We map our menu of options and begin to explore.
This past week, NASA’s Webb Space Telescope rocked the world with new discoveries of the universe that we have never seen before. Thousands of new galaxies, solar systems, exoplanets and star formations from 290 million light-years away were suddenly made available just inches from our eyes. Each discovery reminds us that we are part of something even bigger. It opens up a new map to explore. Before us, the universe. Where should we go next? What is this? How does it all work? Why is it here? Is there more to this? And on we go. We keep exploring because we are curious.
What fascinates you? What are you exploring today? Stay curious!
Image Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI