The Power of Good Questions
My father worked a research scientist during his professional life. He often told me that the key to conducting a successful experiment in the lab was directly related to the the questions that were guiding the project. “Christina,” he would say, “the quality of the answer you receive depends on the quality of the question you ask.” As a teacher, I know that good questions can spark deep insight, powerful connections, and guide learning communities into the terrain of the heart and spirit where hope, faith, and possibility are held with vulnerability, solidarity, and a shared commitment to growth. A good question can turn a boring lecture into a launch pad to the sacred, revealing the truths that often live underneath the surface of information and data.
As the election season is reaching its crescendo here in America, I am thinking about what kinds of questions are helpful for me for me to ask. Instead of “Why is the election so close?” I can ask, “What can I do to influence the results in the direction I hope it will go?” Instead of asking myself, “Why are people so hateful?” I can ask, “How can I bring love alive in my life?” Instead of asking, “What will happen if (fill in the blank of some new fresh hell such as Project 2025, mass deportations, tariffs and national abortion bans)” I can ask “What is the next best faithful step I can take today to care for myself and the dignity of all people?”
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think a good question is the whole story and my above paragraphs run the risk of sounding wrapped in privilege and/or ignorant of the gravity of our shared circumstances. I believe the stakes are high and lives are very much at stake— from the lives of women needing medical care, to the lives of immigrants and their families, to the LGBTQ+ community, to the life of our democracy and its imperfectly manifested yet important ideals, and the lives of all of us who live on the planet. I am also not under the fantasy that everyone who enjoys practicing asana sees the political landscape through the same lens, nor am I naive enough to think that everyone who reads my monthly missive shares my leftist viewpoints. And, if you have been here for any length of time, you know where I stand on these matters so this entry is probably not so shocking.
So, with all that, I hope that you have found (or will find) a few guiding questions of your own this week that will help you cope. I hope that the answer to “what is my next faithful step” involves time on your mat, good food with people you care about, long walks in nature, a voting plan, and large and small acts that help you keep your heart open and your connection to yourself and others alive.
All right. That’s what I have for now. Keep the faith.
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