Hey, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, we're going to talk about the power of curiosity. So I recently wrote a book called Stop Missing Your Life: How to be Deeply Present In an Unpresent World. And one of the reasons we often miss our lives is out of fear. So just think about when you've been fearful of something - heights, spiders, public speaking, or intimacy.

The tendency is to pull back, not get closer. And that's a good thing. This is what fear was designed to do. It's a biological and neurological response to perceive danger. If something is perceived as unsafe, fear we'll make sure we don't get too close.

It causes us to run, get smaller, get quiet, all of these wonderful responses to protect us from harm. But have you also noticed that sometimes fear pulls us away from our life in a negative way. What if I apply and don't get the job? What if people don't accept me for who I really am? What if I open my heart and get hurt? This fear is a big reason we miss the fullness of our lives. It holds us back from living more creatively, honestly, and openly. So if fear shuts us down to life, what can open us up to the possibilities life has to offer? Is it courage? Trust? Love? These are all important aspects of a life well lived, but I don't think they're the opposite of fear.

The opposite of fear is curiosity. Fear is the impulse to turn away. Curiosity is the impulse to turn toward. Fear is the desire to close down and curiosity is the desire to expand and explore. Fear presupposes, danger and curiosity, presupposes safety.

Imagine a life of turning away, closing down and presupposing danger at every turn. You can probably see how that would cause us to miss our life. So if fear leads us to missing our life, curiosity is our bridge to being deeply present. And what I think is most powerful about curiosity is that it can soften fear the same way love can soften hate. As soon as we drop into curiosity, it's as if a switch gets flipped in our brain, turning on a perceived safety with which we're able to lean into experience a little more closely.

And once we do, it gives us an entirely new way to relate to and experience our life. So in today's meditation, we'll explore cultivating more of this curiosity. But as you go throughout your day, see what it's like to, to bring a curious mentality into your life, into moments that you're excited about, but also moments that might typically bring up fear. You might ask, what is this moment like right now? What would it be like if I leaned a little closer? What would it be like if I tried something new? That curiosity is a, is a childlike interest and it can be really powerful. So I'll talk to you shortly.

Thanks for your time and take care.