Mikey's Hand

Wisdom begins with a good question, while a bad assumption imprisons us in ignorance.

“Does anyone have any questions?” The class turned to look at Mikey, and he did not disappoint. His hand shot up, and we all shook our heads. Mikey always had a question! That was Mikey’s special gift; he always had a question. They were not “show off” questions. Nope, they were real questions that rose from a curious mind. He had a wide-eyed wonder and loved peering into the mysteries of life. Yep. Mikey’s hand was in the air, and we knew that recess would have to wait until we heard the teacher’s answer.

It is not that the rest of us were not curious about stuff. But we did not raise our hands as much as Mikey did. Our questions were not that important to us. Some preferred not showing our ignorance to our classmates by asking an honest question. Others cared more about recess than exploring the unknown. Many simply assumed they knew the answer and were comfortable with their quasi-knowing. Nope, questions complicated our lives. We liked things simple, straightforward, predictable, and comfortable. But Mikey liked the mystery.

I now realize that Mikey had an extraordinary gift beyond his questions. Mikey knew what he didn’t know, which is rare, especially for someone so young.   Most of us made many assumptions about stuff, and we were okay relying on those guesses. After all, nearly everyone else believed them also. They called it “common sense.”  But Mikey looked past his assumptions and saw a mystery lurking in the background. 

But his gift went even deeper. Before he could look past his assumptions, he had to question them. And this takes courage, real courage. When he saw that the real world did not meet his expectations, he went with reality and dared to question his perceptions. He knew and trusted himself enough to muster the courage to stand up against the crowd, common sense, and his assumptions. And when he did, his hand went into the air, and the rest of us shook our heads. All we could do was settle in for a long siege of new information that we did not even know we needed.

Mikey gave us a great gift, a real hope that there is a knowable world beyond our perceptions and assumptions. He offered us a living hope in the world around us that we were too blind or ignorant to explore. He gave each of us a hope that shines through the darkness if we were willing to unwrap it with real self-knowing. We did not have to rely on superstition or ill-conceived common sense. We could discover a universe grander than we could imagine by knowing what we don’t know and having the courage to look beyond our assumptions.

Thank you, Mikey! But next time could you ask your question at the start of class rather than at the end? We like recess, too!