"he asked them; Then he said to them..."
At my work, I have to constantly ask questions to help my students move one step further in their learning process. I have seen that the formulation and answer to questions depend on the skills of the students. I have witnessed that when students are at the beginning of understanding a new concept, a question with a “yes/no” answer turns out to be very insightful. As the understanding deepens, however, a more insightful answer is “it depends”. It does require a higher level of sophistication, maturity and experience to feel comfortable with ambiguity and with the realization that ignorance (we do not know yet) could be insightful.
Recently I have been doing a soul searching process that has helped me to develop stronger roots in my life. Many of the questions I have asked myself, have left me with the “it depends” answer. My reflection on those questions also left me with a sense of peace and tranquility- serenity- because I realized I was brave enough to ask myself those questions. And because the “it depends” answer gave me a sense of freedom, empowerment and healthy curiosity I needed.
Would you have a difficult question you would like to ask yourself just as Jesus asked a difficult question of the Apostles? Perhaps posing the question is the first step to delve into an answer. And perhaps the greatest value would be the courage to state the question!
(Adapted from Patricia Soto)
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