Is Curiosity Part of Your Spirituality?
John Bartram, a Quaker naturalist, cofounder with Benjamin Franklin of the American Philosophical Society, and who eventually was designated the King's Botanist in the colonies, mused in one of his letters how he became interested in plants:
"One day I was very busy in holding my plough (for thee seest I am but a ploughman), and being weary, I ran under the shade of a tree to repose myself. I cast my eyes on a daisy ; I plucked it mechanically, and viewed it with more curiosity than common country farmers are wont to do, and observed therein very many distinct parts, some perpendicular some horizontal. What a shame, said my mind, or something that inspired my mind, that thee shouldst have employed so many years in tilling the earth, and destroying so many flowers and plants, without being acquainted with their structures and their uses! This seeming inspiration suddenly awakened my curiosity, for these were not thoughts to which I had been accustomed. I returned to my team, but this new desire did not quit my mind ; I mentioned it to my wife, who greatly discouraged me from prosecuting my new scheme, as she called it."His wife's disinterest may be because at the time they had a small farm and were raising 11 children.
Later, when he was successful botanist, he wrote:
"I am continually impelled by a restless spirit of curiosity in pursuit of new productions of nature, my chief happiness consists in tracing and admiring the infinite power, majesty, and perfection of the great almighty Creator, and in the contemplation, that through divine aid and permission, I might be instrumental in discovering, and introducing into my native country, some original productions of nature, which might become useful to society."What role does curiosity play in the growth and nurture of your personal spiritual life and in the spiritual life of your family and community?
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