Turning Moments into Questions

Willingness to inquire and be open seems to be a hallmark of the education system. This is hard to do because as soon as I arrive at an understanding of something, I have a tendency to try to make some kind of rule around it or try to fixate on it as though it were a dogma. I think that this is a natural tendency, to try to lean on a concept rather than delving deeply into it to know its implications. Is it possible to take an inquiry based approach to our daily situations and life?
   This question interests me because it seems that the ability to raise questions rather than assume 'givens' is the key to an active mental life and a curious mindset. I don't have a particular solid or concrete answer to how to do this, but I think one method that helps is to view all situations as a kind of school. That is, rather than confining the process of learning and questioning to specific 'subject areas' as some educators have espoused (such as Neil Postman and Jerome Bruner), the inquiry can begin with one's very existence and interconnections in this moment. I can ask questions such as why the city street I am on is so distinct from others, what strikes me as different and similar; and use my imagination to inquire into the advantages of living there as well as the complex relationships. When I am looking at the prices of food at the local supermarket, I can ask myself, what's behind that price, and who benefits from the cost? Why is this food popular here and not somewhere else? In other words, I turn the daily jaunt into a kind of adventure in ideas and see how I can turn the everyday into a kind of exploration or lesson.
    Curiosity isn't a given that always exists, and I have found in myself a tendency to take things for granted rather than questioning what they are doing and why. I think that curiosity can be cultivated intentionally, if one is willing to suspend judgment and even entertain little glimmers of questions that can peep through the cracks of awareness. In turning a daily experience into an inquiry, one can invigorate how they see things and open the floor to a mutual learning with others, rather than turning things into static givens.