Who Said So?

When I was young,

A teacher once told me,

"Question everything."

Not because the world was wrong.
Not because authority was bad.
Not because every rule was foolish.

But because understanding matters.

He said,

"If the answer makes sense,

Go with it.

If it doesn't,
Keep asking.

Look for more answers.
Dig a little deeper.

And find out who said so."

Those words followed me
Long after the classroom was gone.

When they said,
"That's just the way things are,"

I asked why.

When they said,

"Everyone knows that,"

I asked how.

When they said,
"Because we've always done it this way,"

I wondered whether that was a reason
Or just an excuse.

I've spent my life
Pulling on loose threads.

Not to unravel the world,
But to understand how it was stitched together.

Because every belief,
Every law,
Every tradition,
Every rule,

Started with somebody.

Somebody made the decision.
Somebody wrote the words.
Somebody convinced others it was true.

And somewhere along the way,
People stopped asking questions.

They accepted the answer
Without knowing who gave it.

Who said success looks like this?

Who said failure looks like that?

Who said a man should live one way
And not another?

Who said this was impossible?

Who said you were too old,
Too young,
Too late,
Too different?

Who said so?

Sometimes the answer is wisdom.

Sometimes the answer is experience.

Sometimes the answer is truth.

And when it is,
I accept it gladly.

But sometimes the answer is habit.
Sometimes it's fear.
Sometimes it's tradition with no memory
Of why it began.

Those answers deserve another question.

So I keep asking.

Not because I think I know everything.

But because I know I don't.

And I'd rather spend my life
Searching for the truth

Than blindly following a path

Without ever asking

Who said so?