Inside the Junk Drawer of My Mind, and the Pursuit of Knowing.

DearLovedOnes,
I have so many questions in my mind — like an open junk drawer (or closet) filled with thoughts, wonders, and things I can’t quite organize yet…

Today's post brings you the confessions and everyday questions of a curious soul .

Have you ever maxed out your iPhone tabs with questions like ‘repairing nerve damage l-carnitine’?
Really?! — Me too!

I want to start a conversation with you all today.

One that we carry forward.

A conversation about what our questions say about us.

About what our curiosities and explorations might reveal. In general, about ourselves, one another, and how we each see and interact with the world, each other, and ourselves.

I'd like to share what I think such things might imply about us, and we'll get into that, a bit.

First and foremost though, I want to encourage wonder.

Questions are constantly,
like The Phantom of the Opera¹,
“inside my mind”.

Oftentimes, even if I think I know something, I still double check.

As much as I have learned and experienced over my nearly 40 years, there are really only a few things I know for sure.

One of which is there are so many things I do not know.

So many things I wonder about. So much I wish I knew more of and about.

So, so, sooooooooo many questions!

Considering just how many hit my brain stem , it's amazing that any actually make it out alive, or escape even somewhat intact. Even more surprising is expressing them cohesively to/for others — 🤣😇.

I remember growing up we had that one stereotypical junk drawer.

Did you have something like this in your home growing up?
What was in it, do you remember?
Do you have one now?

Ours was in the tiny kitchen that already didn't have enough storage as it was, and was filled with anything and everything. It held screws, nails, rubber bands, random tools, and God only knows what other random things.

It was awful to have to go through, because something was bound to stab you. Besides that, it was an overflowing mess and so very dirty!

There was another drawer though.

It was on the bottom. It was the only large drawer I recall having. I wonder if you did or do this too. It was for potatoes and onions.

To keep potatoes fresh longer they need to be stored in a cool dark place.

Our current house also only has so much storage space. Drawers  in particular— all of which were full with cooking and baking supplies. There was no ‘extra’ room for potatoes to be properly stored to extend their shelf-life; however, I have made adjustments.

As much as we eat all kinds of fresh foods, I often cannot go through the potatoes quickly enough. It feels so wasteful. For those struggling with the same, when they are on their way out I make potassium rich water that many plants love.

Not having the option to move them to the drawer at the time, I desired a simple, quick, easy, effective, and cheap solution. I googled: "can I store potatoes successfully in a cardboard box?"

Answer.

Not only can one store potatoes in such an available, affordable, and convenient container, the AI-generated answer stated they are “an excellent method” for doing so.

One that provides the right “balance of protection and airflow” potatoes require if storing long-term. Long term being anywhere from two to six months depending on factors such as heat and humidity.

They were moved into our pantry where I bet they partied like it was 1999!
 — or something more relevant ;p

They have since been moved into the drawer. I kept the cardboard box...

With all that said, do you know if there is a limit on how many safari pages you can have open on your iPhone?

I do!

Yep — I learned this because even though I always intend to go back to that thought train. Despite the intention, life is busy, full, and distracting. I always hope to read and research more about whatever topic or question I searched.

Sometimes I actually do. Although I often still leave it open because, well … who knows where, or what, else it might lead me to.

Drives my hubby slightly nuts, but he has learned to love and appreciate me just the way I am ;p

I learned the limit, because one day, I tried opening a new search tab and it was like "NOPE" —  aka I couldn’t. I had reached the maximum. 

Turns out, it’s 500.

My husband was truly very nearly appalled — he has worked in IT for over two decades now, and it's kind of taboo...

He says he still loves me, so that's good! He started laughing. Saying something like of course you would learn that — because, in his words, he knows how I roll.

As if that's not enough, I have countless pinned tabs and even more open on my poor *MacBook⁵ . This includes Safari as well as Google Chrome.

Not just one window either.

Nope, there are multiple browser windows open nearly all the time. I just have so many interests, inquires, wonderings, etc., and projects running. Constantly!

So. Many. Questions DearLovedOnes. Just look below for a sneak peak into the mind of me.

As you can probably start to imagine, that list, if you clicked to open the toggle, is just a very small portion of my most recent questions. As much as that might reveal something, or some things, about me, I am curious about you!

What questions do you have?

What do you ask, explore, inquire?

What do you think, feel, believe our questions reveal about us - anything?

Who, what, where do you ask these wonderings?

Better yet... what questions do you have that you keep bundled up?

Why? — Do you know?
Just too busy, or is there some other reason?
Like fear of judgment?

I find it so sad how often so many of us feel judged for any and all kinds of things. — even our curiosities, our questions.

Isn’t it better we ask though?
— After all, if one person has a question, then isn’t it likely someone else has that same or similar question?

Even more profound, where can any question potentially lead us?!
Lead a conversation?
Lead to new untapped ideas, explorations, discoveries...???!!!

Where can this openness, kindness, and non-judgmental attitude lead not only our individual selves in the her and now, but our collective whole and the future it has the potential to impact?

Don’t get me wrong, I have been on both the receiving end as well as the ‘giving’ end of that stick. The plank in my brother’s eye versus my own…

I don’t think I do it often . Hopefully less and less as I learn, grow, become more aware, and practice/implement change.

I know that I have though, and all I can do is better.

Is there anything you can be more mindful of and practice?

What do you think, how do you feel, what are your thoughts?

What answers do you seek?

For me, asking itself feels expansive.
It feels freeing.
I feel like the circles of my tree trunk are developing and expanding.

Like the muscles of my mind are becoming not just stronger, more flexible, and even stable, but more agile while still developing new branches, buds, and flowers of possibilities.

Does this resonate with you?

What does asking feel like to you?
What about the process of discovering and obtaining answers?

— What’s in your mental junk drawer?

Just like that junk drawer full of mystery and randomness, life throws questions at us — not all of which we can answer cleanly, clearly, quickly, or easily.

Sometimes we find practical little wins (like storing potatoes), and sometimes we just sit with the questions longer. Perhaps indefinitely.

That question BTW.

What does being curious say about someone?

To help us out, here is the top quick blurb AI-Generated response⁶:

“Being curious generally indicates a positive and engaging personality. It suggests an individual is open to new experiences, eager to learn, and likely to have a more positive outlook on life. Curiosity can also foster better relationships, enhance creativity, and even protect against negative social experiences.”

That all makes sense. Pretty cool, encouraging, and inspiring too.

Something else I think being curious says:

• We are deeply fascinated, and perhaps even fascinating ourselves.
• We do not bore easily.
• We are inventive — even if just with asking questions — and likely problem solvers too.
• We will continually challenge our thoughts, perceptions, perspective, understanding, knowledge, intelligence, etc., and how we understand ourselves, others, and the world...

These are just a few thoughts about what I think asking questions can tell us about ourselves or someone else - as well in the asking itself...

What do you think it says?

As if I need to share more questions whirling around inside my mind, I'll leave you with just a few more...

• What if we ask our questions?
• What might happen if we start to clean out the clutter of our mental junk drawer?
• What if we continuously learn, grow, apply?
• How much might we as individuals, might our personal world, evolve?
• What's the ripple?

While hopefully encouraging wonder, I hope to encourage the exploration, the potential, and the beauty of vulnerability. I myself want to... dare greatly and perhaps even dare to lead...⁷.

It's been a pleasure sharing with you today DearLovedOnes!

I pray you got something out of this. Even if it's just a laugh or a smile. Please come back and see what other wonderings I have to share and subscribe to stay in the know. Thank you for reading and God Bless!

For those who want to go back to the song at the beginning …

Resources, References, Sources, Links, etc.

1. Phantom of the Opera
2. inquiring minds want to know meme
3. https://images.app.goo.gl/sg4GJTE6K92CKfto9
4. Screen shot from Inquiring Minds
5. *MacBook — I do NOT receive any benefit or incentive mentioning Apple Products of any kind.
6. What does being curious say about someone?
7. Brené Brown