Episode 263: Approaching Life with Curiosity

This week on Fable and the Verbivore, we’re talking about curiosity and life lessons from creativity.

During a previous episode (Episode 258: Death, Poetry, and Light), we touch on a book called “The Lost Art of Dying” that the Verbivore has been reading. This book does include a lot of information on preparing for death, but the biggest takeaway is how a life well lived helps us face the prospect of our finite time on this Earth.

In this episode, we unpack some takeaways from this book as well as Pity the Reader by Kurt Vonnegut and Suzanne McConnell, creative lessons that relate to many aspects of our lives, and the benefits of shifting how we manage ourselves from a dictatorial method to one based on curiosity. Things like:

Bring in practices that force you to face yourself in the mirror and ask what matters most
Notice how any new project that requires thought, brainstorming, and intuitive exploring — like designing a room, writing a difficult letter, or writing a will — helps strengthen creative muscles that are useful for writing
Embrace challenging and vulnerable conversations/thoughts which can help us dig deeper with ourselves and find the words for the raw and difficult to accept
Pay attention to when your active and dynamic imagination is having an negative impact on your mental health
There’s an important balance to find with acceptance - avoid trying to ignore the situation or overly control it
Work on being open to different ideas and create space to test out options
Remember that the lessons that are useful for creative practices such as writing are also useful for creating your life as a whole

Towards the end of our conversation, we talk about how binaries of pass or fail often lead you to feel guilt or shame if you don’t meet your arbitrary goals and leave little room for celebration if you do (since that’s what you were supposed to do). The Verbivore mentions how shifting over to a life hack of asking yourself a curious question like “how many words can I do in 40 minutes?” or “how many loads of laundry can I get done today?” helps you to feel good about what you accomplish no matter how much.

We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find whatever processes work best for you! And keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

Here is the previous podcast episodes where we talked about “The Lost Art of Dying” and intuitive creation: