Tag Archives: JusJoJan

JusJoJan – Curious 7 January 2024

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Today’s prompt word for JusJoJan is ‘Curious’

We have two very curious cats that visit us daily. They are interested in absolutely everything around them. If we have the gardener here they won’t leave him alone. They sniff at his tools and inspect the area he is weeding. Recently we had solar panels installed and the cats were all around the technicians examining their work and making sure they were doing a good job. The workers were incredibly patient with the felines and managed not to trip over them – they do like to get in the way and then object if you accidentally step on them! These cats are such happy little creatures and I’m sure it’s because they are curious about the world they live in and find great joy in what they find even if it’s just some affection from the people they are pestering with their inquisitiveness.

Because of the idiom – Curiosity killed the cat – it comes across that curiosity is a bad thing. 

But of course, nothing can be further from the truth. I suppose curiosity can get one into trouble but imagine if one ignored one’s instinct to find out about things that interested one. No new discoveries would be made. We would not have the wheel. Man would not have landed on the moon. The telephone would not have been invented. We would not have computers, the internet, and all the other wonderful modern technology that both complicates and simplifies our lives!

In my opinion, people who are not curious are boring and usually miserable too. When a person is curious, they explore their world and are filled with awe when they discover what is out there. When we experience awe we also experience clear thinking, good health, and relate better to other people. 

So get out there and be curious. 

JusJoJan 2024 #2 Gregorian

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Here I go with the second day of JusJoJan. Thank you Willow for today’s prompt – Gregorian.

When I hear the word Gregorian I think of the chanting of monks as they worship at chapel. But it is not only Christian monks who chant prayers or hymns. In almost every religion it seems that the worshippers will chant at some stage or another. Deep down I understand this because the sound is beautiful and perhaps that is the point. It evokes a feeling of peace and of wonder. Perhaps, too, it helps the worshipper to concentrate on what he is saying. Children seem to learn when they chant, rap, sing or recite in rhyme. Does chanting do something to our brain waves? I taught at a school where we were encouraged to use music, singing, chanting and movement in our lessons. It seems that such activities calm children and give them a sense of well-being so that the learning process is stimulated. I certainly found that when my small learners became restless an action song would do wonders to get them back on track.

Another thought evoked from the word Gregorian was that of our modern-day calendar. It has only been used since October 1582 and some days in some months had to be lost when it first replaced the Julian calendar which was similar but not as accurate. One wonders what kind of disruption this caused especially when it came to celebrating birthdays. Imagine being told – sorry your birthday is not on the calendar this year! Well, of course, this happens to those born on the 29 February as they only get their actual birthdate every four years! But at least they know this in advance.

So thank you Pope Gregory XIII – we have a calendar that is used in most parts of the world and is pretty accurate as far the solar year is concerned because at the turn of a century, you don’t have a leap year unless the year is divisible by 400. Thus,1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years but 1600 and 2000 were.