The Story Behind the Buffalo: The Power of Curiosity

For years, if I'm being honest, I never really understood tattoos.

I often found myself wondering why someone would permanently mark the beautiful skin they had been given. It wasn’t something I would choose for myself, so I quietly wondered what inspired someone else to do it.

Then one day, instead of simply wondering,  I started asking, “Tell me about your tattoo”

What I've discovered is that every tattoo tells a story—of someone they love, a season they survived, a value they hold, or a reminder they never want to forget.

During a recent visit to my chiropractor, I noticed a tattoo on his forearm that I had either never seen before or never really taken the time to notice.

It was of a buffalo.

So I asked...

His face lit up as he explained that there are actually three buffalo and they represented his three children. Then he shared something I had never heard before.

When storms approach, most animals instinctively run away. But because they're running in the same direction as the storm, they actually stay in it longer, exhausting themselves in the process.

Buffalo do something different.

They turn toward the storm.

They walk directly into it.

By facing it head-on, they actually pass through it more quickly.

I couldn't stop thinking about that.

How many times do we spend more energy avoiding hard conversations, difficult decisions, uncomfortable emotions, or necessary change than it would take to simply face them?

Avoidance often keeps us in the storm longer.

Courage doesn't always remove the storm—but it shortens the time we spend inside it.

Even more than the buffalo lesson, though, I kept thinking about something else.

I almost missed this beautiful story because I could have been content to simply wonder instead of ask.

One simple question revealed a meaningful lesson, a father's love for his children, and wisdom I'll probably carry with me for a very long time.

It reminded me that every person we meet is carrying a story we’ll never know…unless we’re willing to ask.

Maybe that's the invitation for all of us.

To replace quiet wondering with curiosity.

To ask one more question.

To slow down long enough to really see the person in front of us.

Because when we're willing to become curious, we don't just learn about other people. We grow ourselves.

Since then, I've been thinking...

What story might I miss if I never ask?

What storm might become shorter if I stopped running from it?

Maybe the invitation isn't simply to be more curious.

Maybe it's to be just brave enough to ask one more question...and courageous enough to take one step toward the very thing we've been avoiding.

I have a feeling there's wisdom waiting on the other side.

The power of curiosity has a way of changing how we see the world—and one another. Maybe all it takes is one more question.