Curiosity killed the _ _ _ ???

Image by dsearls via Flickr

It's a nice crisp Tuesday morning in Bangalore. I'm driving to work and the clock on the dash board glows 7:33. On an FM station, the RJ throws a question to all his listeners and promises them goodies if they give him the right answer. The question - Curiosity killed the _ _ _? He urges all who're listening in to call him and fill in the blanks. But his question sets me thinking...we're fed on many such proverbs and phrases during our formative years. Proverbs, phrases and idioms that are valid truth's in a specific context. And in today's context? Would not being curios help?

I've been guilty of not being curious - of evaluating and judging without really understanding and its always led me to consistent and predictable results. Results that kept repeating themselves. Results that I've not been proud of. And then, I started being curious about being curious. And then, I suddenly started discovering aspects and dimensions that were always there that I just hadn't recognized. From discovering pleasant connections with 'difficult' people to finding exciting and unpredictable consequences to daily mind numbing stuff.

As I write, I'm reminded of another old William Ward quote - "Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning" and I'm thinking - no cat ever died by learning. Did they Mr. RJ?