Shame on the people who admonish, “Curiosity kills the cat”.

How many spirits have those people confined? How much motivation have those people stifled? How much innovation water have those people muddied?

It's interesting to see how the things we are taught when we are young can stick with us throughout our lives. And, it's interesting to think about the impact advice has on the character we develop and carry with us throughout our lives.

It seems to me, Curiosity is a gift of Nature. It is a gift of human nature. It is also a gift enjoyed by many in the animal kingdom. We see young animals of all sorts exhibiting curiosity. We see protective parents of all kinds working to limit the extent their of their infant’s curiosity. We see parents of all kinds reaching out to save their little children. We also see their children, over time, learning how to live safely and how to self-control their curiosity.

For many of us, cats stand out as particularly curious creatures. Whether large cats or small cats, wildcats or domestic cats, cats seem to maintain their curiosity longer than other creatures. We see adult cats behaving more playfully than other domestic animals. We see adult cats being more adventuresome. We see adult cats behaving more independently.

Such spirited cat-qualities.

…and some people teach our young that curiosity kills them!