Simple Questions

Today students found clarity in asking the simplest of questions related to their mandalas. As a result, the intensity of observations went up a notch. When I taught introductory archaeological science years ago, I used to tell students that the ability to frame useful questions often helped in the learning process. Articulating a meaningful question about subject matter requires a curious mind and is a small step away from willpower to investigate possible answers. I think what students may not realize is that even the authors of the books and articles we read write in order to answer simple questions.  David Haskell in this week's reading "Footprints" from The Forest Unseen, for example, reflected on a simple question: why is it that white-tailed deer and other ruminants are able to digest cellulose that is undigestible to many other animals. His answer to this question leads the reader on a biological journey, the reading of which increases understanding of evolutionary biology and ecology. Simple questions lead to rich answers. Some samples from today's mandala observations: why did the largest minnow die, what causes different pigmentation in the centers of some clover leaves, why do seemingly identical dandelion plants have remarkably distinctive flowers, how does mistletoe extract nutrients from trees it parasitizes? It is quite possible, in fact nearly certain, that these biological mysteries would remain unsolved and unnoticed without these quiet periods of observation.