All this reading (or more accurately, being read to) is starting to get the better of me! We just read the story of Riki Tiki Tavi in The Jungle Book last night, which is a tale of how one mongoose single-handedly won a war against a whole family of snakes. As I was listening to the introductory description of our friend, Riki, I loved the following line:
“It’s the hardest thing in the world to frighten a mongoose, because he is eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity. The motto of the mongoose family is 'Run and find out.'”
I couldn’t sleep last night (one of many nights of stomach issues on this voyage), so I stayed up thinking about this line, and how it has applied in my life. I thought about the times in my life when I’ve been most scared by my circumstances, or even when I’ve been most offended by another’s actions. And in each instance, I wondered if I had approached the situation with curiosity, rather than fear or anger, how that might have affected not just my reactions, but the outcome overall.
Like, when I was in the middle of my lawsuit in 2013. I was personally destroyed by the publicity, and lost many friends. But I spent so much of my time feeling pity for myself and utter despair, rather than look at the situation with a true sense of curiosity. What lessons were to be learned from this? What was the merit to my opponent’s position? How could my industry look at this as an opportunity to grow?
Or when I get personally insulted by another person’s rude behavior (this happens all the time, btw). I get infuriated, and then fear how harmful the behavior will be for me or our relationship. Couldn’t I look at this with curiosity too? Truly seek to understand where they are coming from?
I learned a phrase from a good friend, Erika, not too long ago, “Choose love over fear,” and I think I may add my own spin to it now. I’m going to make a concerted attempt to choose curiosity over ego.
Thanks for the suggestion, Riki Tiki Tavi!
