Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

by Krista Tippett

I know it is possible to speak about our deepest passions and convictions in a way that opens imaginations rather than shuts them down.

words that describe presence rather than means towards an end: nourishing, edifying, redemptive; courageous, generous, winsome; adventurous, curious, tender

Generous listening is powered by curiosity, a virtue we can invite and nurture in ourselves to render it instinctive. It involves a kind of vulnerability—a willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity. The listener wants to understand the humanity behind the words of the other, and patiently summons one’s own best self and one’s own best words and questions.

But it’s hard to resist a generous question. We all have it in us to formulate questions that invite honesty, dignity, and revelation. There is something redemptive and life-giving about asking a better question.

One of the great ongoing debates in the history of mathematics is whether mathematics is invented or discovered.