Questions have always been a part of my life. As a child, I flooded my parents and strangers with questions, and it started to change over time. The flood slowed to a flow, a trickle, and eventually a periodic drip. I was too embarrassed to raise my hand in class for fear of being labeled a dummy or in the office because I was already supposed to know the answer. My curiosity and desire to learn were dying.
I bought into lies, and my beliefs were wrong. Circumstances conspired, and I discovered inquiry and questions are where learning and growth begin.
Curated Questions is your resource for questions, and within you are the answers. These questions are not mathematical equations but rather a resource to encounter personal reflection and growth. Some are easy, others are very uncomfortable and will prompt further questions. It is time to engage and go deeper.
I have experienced significant benefits from questions. Investigating what I do and the motives behind my actions saved my marriage and helped me become a better parent. Patient friends have been the most common source, but not the single source. It may have come from a book, podcast, a co-worker's off-hand comment, or a bumper sticker on a rusty Volvo.
I am not so arrogant to say my judgment alone can finalize the list. Instead, this is a community space, and your help is needed. What are the good questions you have stumbled upon? What are the questions your cultural elders ask that would be of benefit to others? What questions stopped you in your tracks and made you think? These are the questions that must be added.
Please contribute. Too many are shouting unsatisfactory answers; we must ask better questions.
Learn about my other project of walking every street (and alley) in Washington, DC. I walk with a large sandwich board that reads, “Black and Brown Lives Matter," to encourage the Black and Brown communities and challenge the White community to use their resources to end systemic racism in its many forms. I started the Sunday after George Floyd was murdered, and the 2,085-mile project took nearly 2 years of walking one day a week. Check out the Instagram account @kenwoodward99 for details. This is a Washington Post article about the journey:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/19/walk-dc-black-brown-lives/
As for my background; I have been a US Navy Submarine Radioman, worked in the satellite communication industry, owned and operated a handyman business, and spent the last 17 years working program management on various US Navy projects. Additionally, I have served clients as an Executive Coach since 2017. The children are grown, and I live with my wife of 31 years in the DC suburbs.
Ken Woodward
Email: Ken@CuratedQuestions.com