But Why?

A simple question… or is it?

Asking “why” is often dismissed as an ordinary question. Yet, it sits at the foundation of our consciousness. The ability to wonder and question is what distinguishes us from other creatures; in fact, the way we perceive the world begins with it. In some individuals, curiosity remains flexible and alive. In others, it gradually hardens into certainty. A single “why” has the capacity to disrupt that rigidity. It can shake a deeply rooted belief and lead us toward an entirely different understanding. It can turn over stones and reveal what we have buried beneath them. 

Am I overthinking? Perhaps… but not when it comes to the beauty of asking “why" in our lives.

We used to be better at this

Have you ever held a conversation with a 5-year-old child? They ask the simplest questions; yet somehow, you find yourself unable to answer them. There was a little girl on a road trip with her family. It began to rain heavily outside, and she instinctively climbed over the other passengers with excitement until she finally reached the window. She leaned toward it, pressing her face against the glass while staring outside in complete awe. The little girl began thinking out loud, asking, “How does rain fall from the sky?” Her mother replied, “Not now, just sit down.”

Early childhood offers one of the purest expressions of unfiltered curiosity. The repetitive questioning of a child is not a sign of ignorance, but a relentless pursuit of mystery. Each answer invites another question, as wonder naturally pulls us beyond the answer. You and I were that child once filled with a sense of curiosity that acted as a compass in our lives. 

The bad news? As we grow, this sense quietly fades.

The good news? It can always be rekindled.

A blessing in disguise 

The human mind is designed for efficiency. Not only in functioning or habit, but in perception itself. As we grow, we begin simplifying the world around us, reducing the unfamiliar into something recognisable and manageable. Whatever felt mysterious eventually becomes ordinary. The extraordinary dissolves into routine. 

Perhaps this is necessary. Imagine driving every single day as though it were your first time behind the wheel. It would be chaos. This shift is a blessing in disguise. A person cannot live while questioning every breath they take, every step they make, or even how every drop of rain falls from the sky. To move through life, we eventually stop examining certain things. We learn to name the world so we no longer have to continuously rediscover it. Thus, we quietly begin replacing awareness with assumptions. 

We stop seeing things for what they are and start seeing them for what we have decided they are. Familiarity quietly takes the place of curiosity. This is the quiet trade we make as we grow older: certainty in exchange for wonder.

When life begins…

The hard truth is that most of us fear “why.” Not because the question is difficult, but because of the uncertainty it may lead us into. The moment we begin questioning something deeply rooted, we are also challenging the beliefs attached to it. And sometimes, those beliefs have quietly become part of who we are. That is what makes “why” uncomfortable.

Every time I begin questioning something, I imagine myself about to turn over a stone just to see what is hidden beneath it. There is always a moment of hesitation before doing it. A part of me wonders whether I actually want to know what’s underneath. Yet, the beauty has never been in the answer itself. It is in the discovery. In that brief moment between certainty and discovery. The moment when the world feels unfamiliar again. Almost childlike. And maybe that is what Einstein meant when he said that curiosity has its own reason for existing.

Because sometimes, questioning the world long enough eventually leads you back to yourself.

Fahad Alghamdi is an engineer, award-winning public speaker, and writer whose interests extend beyond engineering. His curiosity remains the force behind everything he creates. Through his writing, he invites readers to look beyond the obvious.