Life is too short not to be interested. Whether you see life as a sexually transmitted disease or a divinely given gift, you must live it. What does it mean to live your life? How do you measure it, in minutes or in moments? What does your life say to others, is it an example or a warning? Your life is a question, how you choose to live it is your answer. What questions you ask, how you go about asking them and the meaningfulness of your answers is an interesting topic.
The table topics section of a toastmasters meeting is pretty straight forward. A question is asked and one audience member, selected at random, is offered the opportunity to respond for at least one minute, but not more than two minutes. Hmm… let’s see, you begin life in a mass of millions striving to conceive. Reaching the egg is the answer to your quest. You were the first to answer and in doing so, began your life. The time you have to answer for your life is limited, although you may experience delivering a couple minutes of extemporaneous speaking as an eternity. Do you feel that suggesting there a direct connection between your life and answering questions is asking a bit much? Consider where you would be if your father never asked your mother on a date. And what about the question at the altar? You were not yet born, but you were hidden in the answer to that question.
How you go about asking questions affects your life. Learn how to ask questions which open people up and honor their interests and strengths. Skill in asking comes from skillful listening. Listen for strengths. Tune into interests. We all tend to be very interested in the same subject, ourselves; however you express these interests through what you do which gives you pleasure. It is a pleasure to respond to questions when you already know the answer. Ask questions that allow others to answer from the fullness of their life and they will gratefully share their best self with you. Learn the difference between open and closed questions. Do you come here often? Lends itself to one of two answers: Yes or No. Questions that can be answered Yes or No are called closed questions because they closed down communication. Asking something like, I noticed how perfectly your necklace matches your eyes, how did you find it? This is an open question because it opens up communication; just don’t get so interested questioning you forget to listen for the answers. Improving how you ask questions will improve your life; however, what questions you ask makes your life a living hell or well worth living.
“Why does this always happen to me?” is often uttered when you are having a hell of a time and should serve as a warning. Questions focus your mind on answers. The kind of questions you ask confines the quality of the answers you find. Asking, “What can I learn from this?” opens you up to learning. Hopefully your questions are leading you to live a life of learning. Question what you believe but not your capacity to believe. Ask what you can do but never doubt that you can do something. Ask why and what to open yourself up to how and when. You only receive what you ask for with purposeful and persistent eloquence. The more refined your request the more meaningful your answers and your life become.
Don’t measure your life by how many breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away. The right questions will guide your life to breathtaking moments and see you through the troubling times. There are always more solutions than you have problems. Your solutions are hidden within the questions you ask. Take the time to ask and answer how do I live a miraculous and meaningful life and your answer as well as your life will always be interesting.