Last month John Grant, aka Meticulous Mick, shared the importance of nature, travel, and culture to make one feel truly alive. In my monthly series, The Life Enthusiast Chronicles, fantastic humans from all over the world explain why life is so incredible to them.
Today I’m excited to present Andrea Stephenson of Harvesting Hecate to you all. Andrea’s blog exudes mysticism and playfulness and is always a phenomenal one to read. Often I feel that I am seeing the world like a child again when I read her posts. She marvels at the world around her, especially mother nature, and her beautiful way with words shines brightly every time. This gal’s been on my list of Life Enthusiast prospects for some time, so I’m pleased to finally have her over.
Connect with Andrea on Twitter.
Wow us, Andrea…
When Britt asked me to contribute to her life enthusiast series, I thought: ‘who me?’ I was honoured and not a little nervous to be counted among this group of inspiring bloggers.
And I haven’t always been enthusiastic about life. Years of sporadic depression and difficult life events in the last decade have seriously tested my enthusiasm.
But what has always propelled me forward and the reason I could never give up on life, is curiosity.
It’s easy to forget how miraculous the world is. We often take it and our existence in it for granted, when the fact that we’re here at all is a miracle in itself. Whether you see our existence as god-given or a happy accident, here we are, living and breathing and enjoying all of the things the world has to offer.
I began this post in the heart of the forest, surrounded by small miracles.
Above my head, nestled in the eaves of the veranda, is a swallow’s nest. An astounding feat of engineering, moulded from dirt that seems precariously positioned.
The parents are relentless. You can watch them in the distance, swooping for insects. They return every few minutes, for hours, perching on the edge of the nest to feed their chirruping babies. They never miss, flitting in and out in seconds as the babies become more vocal. And then I have only to look before me to see other small miracles: the trailing larch with its delicate branches and ruddy fir cones, waving grasses, luminous buttercups, luscious orchids.
I’m at my most content, my most ‘me’ surrounded by nature. Wandering through a forest, or along the coast, with a dog at my side is perfection.
And though I could simply soak it up and be content at its beauty, there’s always that part of me that is curious about what I see. You’ll often hear me mutter to myself ‘I wonder what that is’ and I’ll head over to have a look and make a wonderful discovery. More than anything, I’m curious about how all of this came to be and why it is so varied. Why not just one species of fly, one species of bird, one species of mammal?
The world is a cornucopia of beauty. Every single thing has purpose and sometimes it stops me in my tracks when I remember how amazing it is.
I would enjoy nature knowing nothing about it. But knowing the little that I do: how well everything works together, the continuous cycle of life and of the seasons, gives me added enjoyment. I love mystery, but I also love to know what something is. I’m curious not only about how things work but about what will happen next…where will I be in ten years time, what will I live to see, what experiences will I have had?
I think life is about exploration. It doesn’t matter whether you explore the world or you never leave your home town, it’s about exploring the wonders of life. And we all have interests that prompt that exploration.
And yes, this world can be cruel and horrific.
Sometimes being curious might seem like a disadvantage, because it causes me to think deeply about the terrible things that happen too. I rarely just accept, instead I question and rail against. Not always a comfortable state of being. But this does mean that I connect, with the good and the bad, and that makes for a fuller experience of life.
I’m creative because I’m curious. If I had no curiosity, I’d have no desire to follow a story to its conclusion or to continue brushing paint on a canvas.
The easiest way to be unenthusiastic about life is to lack curiosity. So if you’re feeling apathetic, my advice is to find something you can be curious about.
Britt Skrabanek 
Thanks so much Sherri, there’s so much to see and so much to discover that I don’t think I could ever run out of curiosity 🙂
I’m a BIG Andrea fan! Always such beautiful words and images conjuring up such magic 🙂
Thanks Wendy! You have your own special brand of seeing the world, I’m always interested to see what you’ve ‘seen’ in your posts 🙂
I loved this. I too am very curious, and it’s really what keeps me going. Beautiful post.
Thanks Luanne, if ever I’m feeling unenthusiastic curiosity always makes me excited again.
On a related note, my husband says I ask questions all the time about everything, that instead of sentences I utter questions. And I hate to admit it, but I think he’s right!
Luanne, I have to chime in and say that I do the EXACT same thing. LOL! My husband calls me “The Riddler”. : )
When I read Andrea’s writing, I naturally slow into this relaxed, peaceful state of mind. Her blog is inspiring, beautifully put together and her writing filled with rich words and evocative descriptions. It’s therapy in itself, as is her outlook on life. She’s very special indeed. Loved this post x
Aw thanks Gemma for those lovely comments 🙂
Thanks Britt I am glad you shared Andrea with us, I have been following Andrea’s blog but now I feel like I really know you Andrea. Love the photo’s and your curiosity of life.
Thanks Kath, looking at all these wonderful writers and artists commenting, including you of course, its clear that we’re all curious about different things but that our curiosity creates a whole wealth of unique things.
I love this post on curiosity, Andrea. I think most creative people are curious by nature, but we live in such a rushed society that we often miss those nuances that could really stoke our imaginations. I often forget to slow down, take a look around, find something new or unusual or simply pretty, and appreciate it for what it is. Thanks for the reminder.
You’re welcome Kate. You’re right, it’s when we forget to be curious that life seems that much duller and more difficult.
Now I was so curious about Andrea that I had to go check her blog. 🙂
Thanks Gallivanta, I’ll see you over there 🙂
Another wonderfully insightful post Andrea. Curiosity is the cornerstone to being creative – and you’ve expressed this in so many ways. I love dipping into your blog – it’s one of the first I check out when I’m scouting through my reader!
Thanks to Britt for giving you an extra platform.
Thanks Jenny, it’s so true that nothing would be created without curiosity. Even on the most basic level, us humans wouldn’t be here if we weren’t curious about one another!
Haha, good thought!
This is lovely, Andrea. It’s amazing how nature is so orderly. I love your perspective.
Thanks Lori, yes, the patterns and the dependencies in nature are wonderful in themselves, even without the beauty it gives us.
So nice to read yoru words in another lovely home, Andrea. Gorgeous photos to accompany your signature writing.
Thanks Evelyne, it is lovely over here isn’t it 🙂
I think one cause of many of society’s problems is that people have forgotten how to truly observe the world around us, ask questions about what we see, and then think about how to answer those questions ourselves. Now, too many of us live with eyes glued to smart phones and computers and ears covered by headphones and expecting simple, ready-made answers on demand. Life just doesn’t work that way!
Great to see you in the spotlight here on Britt’s blog!
Thanks JM, good point, you could say lack of curiosity allows atrocities to happen and stops us from changing the world for the better.
What a lovely post, Andrea 🙂
I sometimes wonder if people who just accept and don’t question are happier. But I find it nigh-on impossible to put myself in their heads and imagine having no curiosity; instead, just blind acceptance. Yes, curiosity tends to go with an overactive mind/imagination that perceives multiple angles to everything, good and bad. I know that the times I’ve suffered from depression in my life, are times where that perceiving of too many angles has caused my brain to overload and overturn into a blackness that’s the absolute opposite of curiosity. Then my mantra becomes “There is nothing new under the sun”. But of course, there is. Have you ever seen two clouds exactly alike? Are identical twins really identical? Only at first glance, but not when you get to know them.