Questions or Answers

“Questions are the keys that cause the secret doors of the psyche to swing open.” —Clarissa Pinkola Estés

As a boy I was taught that men, real men were supposed to have the answers to life’s questions and solutions to all life’s problems. In my twenties I would reassure myself whatever I didn't yet know, I would surely understand in my thirties. Of course, the thirties came and went and I hoped that the remaining mysteries (there were so many) would all be solved by midlife.

As I prepare to say goodbye to my fifties I finally have begun to realize that the most important questions are still unanswered and may go unanswered. At this point in my life I am beginning to wonder whether “answers” that are static, never-changing even exist. Such a moment represents a golden opportunity.

I'm beginning to get the sense that it’s time to stop pretending I can ever get THE ANSWERS and that now is the time to really start asking more questions. Perhaps it is in the process of being ready to simply ask "and ye shall receive" is where I was meant to be all along. Simply engaging in the mysterious unknown, being the perpetual student is what brings me closer to my own center and gives me a better chance of finding a little more serenity.

Question: What questions do you still find unanswered no matter what age you are?