Curiosity may have killed that feline fur ball, but she or him learned a lot before exiting number nine. I too have been curious, wondering why we, I or they acted this way, looked or did it that way or were otherwise human.

But curiosity is such a casual word, and the truth is my desire to know was desperate. There were times in life that I felt angry when there was no one around, unhappy when life was just fine, times I had trouble with relationships for no reason, felt sad when…well, you get the idea.

That desperate curiosity, along with forty years of inner work, has lead to some interesting answers and some surprising books.

I also enjoy talking with those courageous people who are going for a positive change, and I live to see that eye-widening moment of understanding.

Besides curious and a listener, I am also a writer who began with a column in the San Jose Mercury News, nationally syndicated. My current project is the book series, “Things That Make Life Better.”

So, from the central coast of the western U.S., I submit these curious jottings of curiosity to be browsed by those who will hopefully find them just as helpful and they might have hoped.