I thought I wanted an answer.

Ideally, the right answer.

I wanted to be right.

I wanted to do the right thing.

I wanted to have the right word.

An answer feels safe.

It gives me a destination.

A place to land.

Answers don’t provide directions.

They are a direction.

They fix me in place.

An answer is a place.

They are best used as reference.

Something to compare against.

What I usually need is a question.

Ideally, the right question.

Ideally, at the right time.

A question doesn’t end the process.

It is the process.

It gives me a point of view.

An answer tells me where to go.

A question tells me where to look.

That’s the difference.

That’s redeeming work.

The intentional orientation isn’t about having both.

It’s about knowing which one is indicated.

Sometimes I need a place.

Sometimes I need a direction.

An answer pushes clarity.

A question pulls me forward.

Closer to right.

Further than any answer could place me.