What is Your Beautiful Question? |Reflections on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger—Part 5.
What Is Your Question?
What motivates you? What do you prioritize? What are your dreams or ambitions? What in the world are you passionate about? What bothers you about the world that we live in? What do you truly believe, and do you act on those beliefs? Do you have a nagging question or questions that tug at your heart? What type of question-asker are you? What is your Beautiful Question? Read on to find out how to pursue it!
(Keep reading to discover my Beautiful Questions. 😊)
What Type of Question-Asker Are You?
Different personalities ask different types of questions. Do you pursue the “What’s?”, the “How’s?”, or the “Why’s?”?
- People who pursue the “What?” questions primarily concern themselves with questions such as “What do I feel like for dinner?” “What type of vacation do I want?” “What kind of job should I do?” I would guess this is the majority of people who want to live a comfortable, enjoyable life.
- Then there are the engineers among us; they are analytical. They ask the “How?” questions such as “How does this work?” or “How can I achieve my goal?” “How can I save money?”
- Finally there are the philosophers. These types of people ask the “Why?” questions? They challenge the status quo. They question what is. Here are some examples of “Why?” questions: “Why does it have to be this way?” Could it be better?” “What if things were different?” “Why did God create the universe?” “Why did God create me?”
Of course I’m oversimplifying to make a point. But what type of questions do you ask? Are you satisfied by the type of question that you asked? Or deep down do you long for something more?
Background
Any good educator know that a good question is vital to learning. Therefore I was intrigued by Warren Berger’s Book A More Beautiful Answer based on e. e. cummings quote:
“Always the more beautiful answer
Who asks a more beautiful question.”
I was already pretty passionate about questioning in the classroom, but his book caused me to reflect on questioning in other aspects of my life, so I decided to write a series of blog posts about it. This is not just a book review, but rather reflections that were provoked by the book. Thus far we’ve explored several aspects of questioning:
- How Can a Question Be So Powerful?| Reflections on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger–Part 1
- How Can I Ask an Impactful Question?|Reflections on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger —Part 2
- How to Practically Create a Culture of Questioning? |A Reflection on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger—Part 3
- What Would Jesus Ask? (W.W.J.A) | Reflections On A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger —Part 4
Now I want to launch into the bigger questions.
What Is Your Purpose?
The Big Questions
What is your purpose in life? The United States Declaration of Independence states that all men have three unalienable rights: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. But is the “Pursuit of Happiness” our true purpose? What did Jefferson even mean by the pursuit of happiness? Then the Westminster Catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” Why do we exist?
The grand philosophical and religious questions are what I’m calling the Big Questions. These questions are the ones that motivate you; although, you may have never articulated them.
A Big Question that I wrestled with when teaching is “Why do schools exist?” or “What is their purpose?” This is an important question because the way you answer it will determine how teaching and learning are done. Yet very few people seemed to ask this. Since very few schools articulate their primary purpose, there tends to be varying primary purposes among educators, parents, students, and community members. Yet these varying purposes are often opposed to one another. At one point while teaching, I became so frustrated I called the U.S. Department of Education, and I asked them “What’s their purpose?” After putting me on hold for a while, they told me that it was against the constitution for them to have a purpose. I was dumbfounded.
The Medium Questions (or The Beautiful Questions)
Medium Questions (as opposed to Big Questions) are what Berger calls the Beautiful Questions. He defines a Beautiful Question as the following:
“A beautiful question is an ambitious yet actionable question that can begin to shift the way we perceive or think about something—and that might serve as a catalyst to change.”
I’m calling them the Medium Questions, because the grand philosophical and spiritual questions are what I consider the Big Questions. I think the Big Questions are just as beautiful, but Berger avoids these all together. Yet, I think they are crucial as a primary motivator! But because the Medium Questions (aka Beautiful Questions) are more actionable, we will focus on those types of questions.
I think you can have different Beautiful Questions in your life. Some questions may change depending on your life’s season. For example when your kids are small, you might have a question around parenting such as “How can I raise my kid to love God and others?” or “How can I raise a functional, responsible adult?” Or you may have several questions depending on the different spheres you inhabit. You may have a different purpose for your workplace than for your family and for your community. For example, “How can I impact the workplace in a positive way?” or “What is our company’s purpose on Earth?” or “How can I practically love my neighbors better?” They aren’t so big, but they are important and manageable and allow you to make a difference in your life.
Berger asks similar questions to companies in his book such as “Why are we in business?” or “What is our company’s purpose (outside of just making money)?”
Exploring The Big Questions
We may not be able to completely answer the Big Questions, but I at least wanted to spend some time exploring some of them.
Pursuit of Happiness
Does pursuing happiness actually make us happy? Berger explores this topic a little book in his book A More Beautiful Mind. He asks, “Why is that that people who have so little and have suffered so much seem to be happier than other people who are more fortunate?” and “If being beautiful, talented, wealthy movie star doesn’t make you happy, then what does?” His answer was strong connections. Happy people laugh and enjoy being around the people that they love. The problem is that the chase of money and success gives us less time to spend on what really makes us happy. He says that the things we loved at age six or eight are still the things we probably love and that those are the things we should pursue. What things did you love as a child? How can you incorporate more of those passions as adult?
What Did Thomas Jefferson Mean By “The Pursuit of Happiness?”
John Locke was a philosopher that greatly influenced our founding fathers. He argued in his Two Treatises of Government that all people are free and equal. Locke stated that people’s inherent rights are life, liberty, and protection of their property. In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson took that idea but changed “property” to the “pursuit of happiness.” When Jefferson used the word “happiness,” he did not mean pleasure or hedonism as many of us think of the term today. Jefferson was using it as more of a religious or philosophical term. It is synonymous with the Greek term “Eudaimonia” which refers to a state of flourishing that results from living a virtuous life. “Happiness” is also used in the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 where happiness results from religion [Christian] and morality. Does pursuing happiness in term of virtue really make you happy? How about in terms of religion and/or morality? Should either of these be a question you pursue in your life?
References
- What Thomas Jefferson Meant by ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’
- The Pursuit of Happiness: The True Meaning of the Misunderstood Phrase
What is the Chief End of Man? A Christian Perspective
Then the Westminster Catechism response is that “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” Why do you think that’s the purpose of mankind? What does it mean to glorify God? How would someone whose purpose in life was to glorify God? How would their life look different than those who didn’t accept that as their purpose? Why do you think glorifying God is coupled with enjoying Him? What would enjoying God look like? Do you enjoy God? What impact would a person have on those around them if they enjoyed God? If your life’s purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him, how would that impact the other driving questions in your life? Would glorifying God and enjoying him look the same for each person or different?
What Are Schools For?
What is the purpose of school? Is the purpose of schools to create good citizens? Or is it to create good workers? Or is it something else? In the case of Christian schools, is school’s primary purpose to disciple students or to evangelize them? Sometimes these goals overlap, but sometimes they compete with one another. Eventually you have to prioritize time of staff, schedule, resources, and funding. It also impacts discipline. What is the goal of disciplining students? How do you discipline students? What do you discipline them for? The unstated goals and purposes in education cause frustrations among staff, parents, and the community as each individual may have their own undefined purpose. Oftentimes people have disagreements and frustrations because unknowingly their purposes are different. So, they end up talking past one another not understanding the root of the conflict. That’s why it’s crucial to articulate your driving questions.
My Application
This is my fifth post on the topic of questioning. I’ve learned a lot, and it’s time to apply the concept to myself. What are the driving questions for my life? What are my Big Questions? What are my Beautiful Questions?
The Big Questions
I’m not seeking happiness either philosophically or hedonistically. As an educator the school question is important to me, but I’m currently staying home with my son, so they are not applicable to me at this time. Since my faith in Jesus is the most important thing in my life, one of my big purposeful questions will align to “glorifying God and enjoying him forever.” Although, my prayers focus more on the practical. One of my prayers is that I make a kingdom difference and that when I see Jesus at the end of my life, he will commend me as a “good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23) Additionally, my confirmation verse was John 15: 5 that talks about abiding in Jesus in order to bear fruit. So, these are some of my big questions: How do I make a kingdom difference? How can I faithfully serve and in what area(s)? Am I making space to abide and rest? Am I in a season of fruitfulness or pruning?
My Beautiful Questions (AKA the Medium Questions)
I’m a practical person, and the Medium Questions (or the Beautiful Questions) are the most practical. This is tough. It’s where the rubber meets the road. This is my 5th blog post about this. Can I actually come up with a Beautiful Question myself?
The Process
In the book, A More Beautiful Question, the author suggests devoting yourself to one Beautiful Question at a time to focus on it. He states that in a sense we don’t choose the question, but the question chooses us. It should be one that resonates with us and is stickable. It needs to be ambitious yet actionable. At one place in the book, he also mentions that it might be something that you’ve been passionate about as a child.
I started by listing all the things I love doing both professionally and recreationally. Then I listed all the things I hate doing, since what I hate could also help narrow my focus. Then I listed all my areas of expertise and spheres of influence. But then I got stuck!
After taking a break from this post for a while, I realized I’m already pursuing my Beautiful Question for this stage in my life. Although, maybe I haven’t articulated it in question form?
What Is My Beautiful Question(s)?
Childhood Dreams
Over the years I’ve been pursuing various forms of the following questions:
- How do I help others grow in their relationship with God?
- How do I encourage people to love one another better?
- How do I help students understand the content better? This question has sort of evolved as I’ve grown professionally “How can I equip teachers to help their students understand the content better?”
When I was a child I was an avid reader, and I wanted to write children’s books. Yet, I set that dream aside to do other things I loved and dreamed about: teaching, education, Bible Study, loving and serving others. However, as my career progressed I’ve done a lot more writing professionally both at McGraw Hill Education and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. And now the time is right to pursue something else and circle back to childhood. In fact, I already started pursuing my Beautiful Question without knowing it: I want to write children’s books. That’s actually one of the main reasons why I started this blog in the first place! 😊
Current Reality
When I was reading bedtime stories to my son, I was looking for a particular type of book with a Christian theme, but I couldn’t find it. So, I wrote one myself for him, and he loves it. (I don’t want to give too much away before I publish it, so I’ll keep the plot to myself for now. 😉) There is also a concept I have for a math picture book that I’ve been trying to write for years as well but things keep getting in the way. So in essence I have my Beautiful Questions. They just need to be fine-tuned a bit:
- How can I write something that will help children like my son grow in their faith?
- How can I write something that can equip teachers to teach their students?
One of my big, motivating questions is “How can I make a kingdom difference?” but you can see it underlying my Beautiful Questions that intersect with my education and experiences in a practical way to make my Beautiful Questions. These couple with the passion I have for writing children’s stories. Now the next question is “Will I be successful?”
Embracing Failure
A More Beautiful Question specifically confronts the concept of failure. Questioning is risky and pursuing and embracing a question is ever risker. Warren Berger encourages us to ask “What if you could not fail? Or better yet? What if I fail—how will I recover?” The author also says that we should reflect on “What does failure men to me? Is it end state or part of the process? What is acceptable vs unacceptable failure to me? If the worst happens, how I will I cope?” We also need to ask, “What if I do nothing?” and “What if I succeed?” and “What’s worth doing regardless of failure or success?”
Berger advocates that we should be willing to fail fast and celebrate failures. Otherwise, life gets dull and nothing new happens to challenge us. My picture books may or may not be successful. But the more I’m challenged, the more I will grow and learn new things. And you never know what direction life can take and what God will use. As Jesus implies in the Parable of the Talents, he would rather have us take a risk and use the talents and gifts that we gave us, then hide our talents in the ground because of fear. So, let’s fail enthusiastically!
Stay Tuned
Soon, I’ll be revealing more about my bedtime book. Can you find the hint in this post about its topic? If you think you found the hint, add it to the comments.😁Subscribe to my post to get updates about my future book!
Challenge: How Will You Find Your Beautiful Question?
Now it’s your turn: I challenge you! Find your Beautiful Question(s) and pursue them. It can change your life! Remember a powerful question never sleeps. Taking your question into the world and exploring it will bring people together as they become intrigued by your question. They won’t be able resist helping you. And who knows what you will accomplish and how your life will change or how you will impact others?
Challenge: How Can You Encourage Questioning In Your Child?
For all you educators and parents out there, how can you encourage questioning in your child? How can you foster curiosity? Remember Isidore Rabi, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics. His mom would ask him every day if he asked a good question that day.
Conclusion
Elie Wiesel echoed the words of the sages by asking,
“When will you understand that a beautiful answer is nothing? Nothing more than illusion! Man defines himself by what disturbs him and not by what reassures him. When will you understand that you are living and searching in error, because God means movement and not explanation.”
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once taught:
“We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers”
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Comment
What is your Beautiful question? I would love to hear! Leave it in the comments.
My question is how can Annie keep coming up with such informative, well-thought out topics and then doing such a great job exploring them? Keep up the good work. Thanks for all your efforts.