WHAT’S IN A NAME?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;”
Ah, Juliet, perhaps the most famous Shakespeare character to question the meaning of a name. She begs for her love, Romeo, to be some other name (preferably a name not connected to a family that hers is feuding with…). In the end, however, neither of them escapes the pain of their families and tragedy ensues. The family name was inescapable.
Juliet presents us the question of names and what it means about our identity. What does a name represent, what does it stand for?
I am no Juliet, but I too have lamented names.
It is no easy feat to name a business. It requires a deep understanding of what you want your company to represent, who you want it to speak to, how you want people to feel seen. And it’s pretty permanent, like “file with the government” level permanent. So what is Curious Things, and how did we get here?
Finding a Name
My therapy modality is based on the three values of Creativity, Empathy, and Curiosity. These are the things I am always brining into the therapeutic space and relationship. These are the things that define me as a therapist and aid me in connecting with the client.
Someone once asked “What is the most important thing for me to bring to therapy?” My answer: Curiosity. The greatest tool we can each bring into the therapeutic space is curiosity. Curiosity about the things that compose you, influence you, harm and heal you. When we approach our work this way, we hold space for what is known and unknown. We venture into your life with a sense of openness to receive and explore whatever comes up.
We see this reflected in the meaning of curiosity, “a strong desire to know or learn something.”
“noun: curiosity; plural noun: curiosities
1.
a strong desire to know or learn something.
”filled with curiosity, she peered through the window”
Similar:
inquisitiveness
interest
spirit of inquiry
nosiness”
The Weird
Curiosity goes beyond the experience of deeply investigating oneself. It also speaks to the weird and unusual. Here we see the second definition of curiosity, perhaps better recognized in the plural form of “curiosities.”
While some may shy away from this list of synonyms or reject the idea of the unusual, I embrace it. I rejoice in people and communities that are “peculiar, odd, strange, marvelous, phenomenal.” I AM LITERALLY A QUEER HUMAN! Queer is the synonym missing from this list.
The curious are the queer.
The curious are the neurodivergent.
The curious are the creatives.
These are my people, these are the individuals and communities who I want to feel seen.
“noun: curiosity; plural noun: curiosities
2.
a strange or unusual object or fact.
”he showed them some of the curiosities of the house”
Similar:
peculiarity
oddity
strangeness
oddness
idiosyncrasy
unusualness
novelty
curio
conversation piece
object of virtue
collector’s item
rarity
wonder
marvel
phenomenon
”
The Parts
I have always loved the weird-little-things about a person. I get giddy learning about the specifics; the small parts that some may dismiss but that compose who you are. In many ways, I find that these small stories are what make meaning for us.
One form of therapy I utilize is Gestalt. Interestingly, gestalt is also a design principle (because of course it is, I cannot separate my therapy self from my artistic self, they co-exist in every way!). Gestalt utilizes the principles of looking at something made of many parts, and knowing that is somehow more than the sum of its parts. Meaning is made not just through analysis of individual parts, but in the understanding of them as part of the whole.
For example, we look at individual pieces of wood: they mean something, have their own form and characteristics. But the sum of these parts mean something different. These pieces of wood composed as a table would mean something different than if they were composed into a table. Same parts, different meaning, experience, and function as a whole.
I love this idea. That there is meaning in the small parts, but it’s also about the way the parts work together.
So let’s look at it all. Let’s explore the parts too. This is where I implement Internal Family Systems (IFS), or parts work. We get to explore the different parts of you, the protectors, managers, exiles. We learn about these components of you, and then we look at the system: how they work together, what they need what they want.
The parts and the whole.
Who are we, but a collection of Curious Things?
Welcome to Curious Things
I know it’s odd, I know it’s unusual. And this is intentional.
Curious Things exists to call to the misfits and makers. The ones who have felt othered, who are seeking to know themselves, who have struggled and been hurt, who create and fight, it is for us. Every part of you, every story, every oddity - it is welcome here. It’s in the name.
