What is a Good Life? #91
Navigating The Path of Curiosity with Andrea Hiott
On the 91st episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to welcome our guest, Andrea Hiott. Andrea is a philosopher and the founder of Making Ways, a private educational consultancy that works with individuals, businesses, and organisations such as EMI to explore the guiding philosophies at the core of our lives and actions. She is also an author and educator, holding degrees in the philosophy of mind, neuroscience, and UNESCO World Heritage. Andrea has authored several books, including Thinking Small, and her work has appeared in renowned publications such as the The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, National Geographic, and the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition, she hosts several podcasts, including Love & Philosophy and Desirable Unknown.
In this captivating conversation, Andrea shares her journey with the question, "What is mind?" We discuss the importance of developing our ability to hold paradox, handle the intensity of our emotions, and navigate the challenges, joys, and fears that love can sometimes bring. We explore how our presence and attention can facilitate change within ourselves and others, and the profound impact of sharing meaningful moments together.
This whole conversation is deeply insightful, offering much to learn from Andrea’s curiosity, wisdom, and reflections. Which ultimately may help you to embrace the experience of being human more fully.
The weekly clip from the podcast (4 mins), my weekly reflection (3 mins), the full podcast (63 mins), and the weekly questions all follow below.
1. Weekly Clip from the Podcast
2. My weekly reflection
In the clip above, Andrea shares a lovely sentiment about genuine, authentic moments that tweak each other's paths, either immediately or resonating through time, leaving a lasting impression.
She gives examples of us impatiently rushing and stressing on our way to the airport, only for someone to make a kind gesture that reconnects us with our humanity, causing us to pause and realise how we’ve lost ourselves in the rush.
She also notes the impact of a teacher or guide in our lives, who might notice something about the way we show up in the world. For instance, they might observe that you can sense another person's emotional state when others cannot, and this observation may shape or alter the path you take in life.
Finally, she mentions what is possible in typically fleeting and superficial interactions, such as taking the time to sincerely share how you are feeling in an environment where people normally wouldn’t.
For example, when someone in a shop asks how you are, and for some reason, you respond openly in that moment. It doesn’t have to be about a lifelong trauma—just a moment where you share something true and alive, and they respond with authenticity, altering both of your days.
Like Andrea, I am convinced that these moments are greatly undervalued and underappreciated in the context of how many people might perceive a good life.
I’ve written before about the profound impact of consistently saying hello to people I didn’t previously know in my neighbourhood. I would say something similar about sharing occasional, genuine, meaningful moments with people I haven’t met before.
My experiences remind me of a past guest who suggested, "The notion of a stranger is an artificial notion." This feels very true in my life.
I am slowly ceasing to be surprised by the depth of connection that is possible in moments I previously wouldn’t have thought feasible. For instance, I speak to many new people each week on Zoom. I often ask someone how they are, and I’ll get a one-word response. When they ask me, I might say something simple like, "I’m loving what I’m doing, but feeling a bit strained by the newness or uncertainty of some of it."
There’s no stock answer I give, but as long as it’s genuine and of the moment, I’m almost always greeted with, "That actually sums up my mood too," or a clear sense that they recognise that the fog of fronting and bullshit is not necessary here.
We don’t have to sit there unpacking or divulging everything wrapped up in our life experiences, but it can simply be a brief moment of looking into each other's eyes, acknowledging the other, really seeing the other, and sensing something real.
These small moments cut through the thin and often shallow veneer of modern-day interactions. Conversations may delve deeper into the specifics of our lives, but they don’t always have to. They offer a fleeting glimpse of humanity that allows us to relate more naturally, regardless of the themes or depth explored later.
The beauty of these small, meaningful moments of connection is that they encourage us to continue paying attention, or to pay closer attention, given the rewards are instant and significant. As I go through life, I feel I am becoming more adept at sensing when someone is subtly reaching out for connection or is in need of it.
A keen, connected listener can understand or feel in a single word what might take someone else an essay to grasp if they aren’t paying attention. It can also be something we sense in the energy between us. I don’t know about you, but the more attention I pay to people, and the less distracted my awareness is, the more I feel that the need for real and deeper human connection is both tangible and growing.
For me, these smaller moments have had a profound effect on the level of connection I feel with the world and with life. Walking out into the world each day with this perspective has greatly changed how I perceive and engage with life and people.
It reminds me of a quote often attributed to Einstein, though never found in his writings: "The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe."
For my experience of a good life, to feel at home in the world and to feel like I belong, this lowering of a guard with people I spontaneously meet has fundamentally changed how I view the role and need of others in my own good life.
And all it may require is a small, subtle moment of transparency to allow someone else to see and connect with your humanity.
Are there any instances or opportunities that come to mind for you, which you have yet to avail of, to create more connection in your life?
3. Full Episode - Navigating The Path of Curiosity with Andrea Hiott - What is a Good Life? #91
Click here for Apple and Amazon
4. This week’s Questions
Can you think of a small, authentic, meaningful moment that has left a lasting impression on your life?
Is there a relationship in your life that you are viewing through outdated lenses? Perhaps you are judging it more by your assumptions than by how it, or the person, may have changed.
About Me
I am a coach, podcast host, and writer, based in Berlin, via Dublin, Ireland. I started this project in 2021, for which I’ve now interviewed over 200 people. I’m not looking to prescribe universal answers, more that the guests’ lines of inquiry, musings, experiences, and curiosities spark your own inquiry into what the question means to you. I am also trying to share more genuine expressions of the human experience and more meaningful conversations.
If you would like to work with me to explore your own lines of self-inquiry, take part in my weekly free silent conversations, discuss experiences I create to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your teams, or you simply want to get in touch, here’s my email and LinkedIn.