I have a tiny problem.
.
I refuse to outgrow curiosity.
.
While sensible adults
are busy pretending
they have life all figured out,
.
I’m still the person asking,
“Ooh… what’s that?”
.
I have Googled things
I absolutely didn’t need to know.
.
Why octopuses have three hearts.
Why bread smells so good.
Why socks disappear in the washing machine.
(That last one is clearly a conspiracy.)
I read signboards in unfamiliar streets.
Open books just because the title winks at me.
Take the longer route home…
just to see what I’ve been missing.
People call it distraction.
I call it field research.
.
I collect tiny adventures
the way some people collect souvenirs.
.
A new word.
A forgotten lane.
A café chosen
simply because it smelled like stories.
.
I’ve started conversations
with old books,
street cats,
my houseplants,
and yes…
they all seem
better listeners than some humans.
.
Curiosity has an expensive hobby.
.
It steals my time,
fills my phone with screenshots,
opens thirty browser tabs,
and somehow convinces me
that I absolutely must know
how astronauts wash their hair,
why flamingos stand on one leg,
or who decided
pineapple belonged on pizza.
.
My search history
could confuse a detective.
.
Honestly…
.
what a delightful way
to confuse one.
.
Life has taught me
that the best discoveries
rarely arrive with a grand announcement.
.
Sometimes they hide
inside a conversation with a stranger…
.
a recipe from an old aunt…
a child’s impossible question…
.
or a wrong turn
that somehow feels exactly right.
.
The day I stop wondering,
“What happens if…?”
.
someone should check my pulse.
.
Because I don’t want a life
where every page is already highlighted.
.
I want dog-eared corners.
Unexpected chapters.
And enough curiosity
to keep annoying algorithms
that think they’ve already figured me out.
.
After all,
the world is far too interesting
to behave like I already know it.
.
So yes…
.
I am a lifelong learner.
Not because I want all the answers—
but because being an explorer
is far more fun
than pretending to be an expert.
.
Until the next story… 🤍
—Rajeshwari 🧿💕
© Nihshabd by Rajeshwari