Spiritual Sparks: Living With Fascination

Reclaim your energy and let fascination lead you forward

If you ever watched Star Trek, you may remember Mr. Spock — the calm, logical science officer who would raise one eyebrow and say one word: “Fascinating.” Here’s a fascinating question: Wouldn’t it be fascinating to know how many times Spock actually said “fascinating”?

That word meant more than “interesting” to Mr. Spock. It meant something had captured his full attention — intellectually, deeply, completely. Even if you’ve never seen Star Trek, you know the feeling.

Curiosity asks questions.
Fascination makes us lean forward and stay with the answer.

✨3 Ideas

1. Curiosity opens the door

We are born curious. Young children may ask three hundred questions a day. Adults average closer to twenty-five, and many are practical rather than exploratory.

Somewhere along the way, curiosity falls by the wayside. We “unlearn” how to be curious. Curiosity opens closed doors. A recipe for a vibrant inner life includes one essential ingredient: curiosity.

Curiosity is how we step toward the unknown. Fascination makes us want to stay there.

2. Fascination makes life come alive

We’ve all felt fascination -- moments of captivation where time seems to stretch.

It might be watching the Northern Lights ripple across the sky. Or standing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where history and spiritual longing feel close enough to touch. Or experiencing a moment of deep emotional connection with another person.

Fascination happens when something enthralls the heart and soul. In those moments, life stops feeling routine and starts feeling fully alive.

3. Fascination with people and wisdom

Fifty people can stand watching a polar bear play with a ball. But the people watching are infinitely more fascinating than the polar bear. Genuine interest in people nurtures a desire to know -- and therefore connect -- to others. 

And when we become fascinated with wisdom, something inside us expands. Growth and meaning follow in its wake. We find ourselves drawn toward learning. It becomes part of who we are.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

📜2 Quotes

“Make your ear attentive to wisdom … seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure.”
— Proverbs 2:2, 4

“If you want to teach someone to sail, you don’t train them how to build a boat. You compel them to long for the open seas.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French author and aviator

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

❓1 Question

What are the top three most fascinating things in your life?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Physicist and Nobel laureate Isidor Rabi once explained why he became a scientist. Growing up in Brooklyn, most parents would ask their children after school: “Did you learn anything today?” But his mother asked a different question: “Izzy, did you ask a good question today?” That simple difference shaped his life.

The questions we ask shape what we notice. What we notice shapes what fascinates us. And what fascinates us often shapes who we become.

A brief note: The Spiritual Sparks Reader is now in its final production stages. The manuscript is in its final professional proofing review. I’m deeply grateful to have you here as it moves toward becoming a finished book.

Until next time,
May your life be filled with fascination, because a fascinated life is one fully lived,

Rabbi Ze'ev Smason

P.S. Who is the most fascinating person you have ever met? Why? I’d be fascinated to hear your answer.

Enjoy this email? Please consider forwarding it to a curious friend or send them a quick email.