Reflection on Wonder
Reflection on Wonder
When I think of the feelings that the word wonder inspires in me it conjures up the idea of how children approach the world. There is something playful, unpredictable, delightful and wonder-ful about it -something childish
But maybe wonder is not something we have to grow out of…maybe it is something we grow back into. There are times in our life when it feels like there is no room, no energy, no desire for wonder to a part of the seriousness that is our lives but perhaps today is an opportunity for us to think about how we can re-engage with wonder.
Wonder is what happens when we stop moving through life as if everything is ordinary and predictable.
When we allow ourselves to notice.
What if quite simply wonder is a unique form of attention, of being present, a willingness to pause long enough to be surprised by what is already here right in front of us…waiting to be seen.
The shape of ice as it thaws and refreezes. The different way sunlight moves through our homes at this time of year. The surprises that we find as the snow melts away. The playful conversation between colleagues at work and the sound of laughing so fully that it changes the energy in a room. The supportive text that comes just at the right moment. The taste of the soup you made that makes you feel warm and loved.
Wonder interrupts autopilot. It asks us to become present to come into contact with something vast, something beautiful, something mysterious enough that for a moment our usual concerns get a little quieter. Our sense of ourselves gets a little less rigid maybe a little smaller. We remember we are part of something larger. It expands us, it lightens us, it frees us.
How is this resonating with you? Are there images, or stories that are coming to mind as I talk about this?
Where does wonder sit in your body and how does it feel?
Wonder asks something different from us than certainty does. Certainty wants to explain, categorize, and conclude.
Wonder is willingness to remain open, to not rush to have all the answers, To let mystery be part of the experience. And this can be uncomfortable, because many of us have been taught that maturity means mastery. That to be wise is to know.
But perhaps wisdom also includes giving ourselves permission to not go to that place of knowing and just to see, just see what we see, not needing to explain it, or understand it but just see something for what it simply is. Wisdom says in this moment I don’t have to know, I don’t have to understand, I don’t have to explain. In this moment I can simply feel the wonder of what I am witnessing and be fully present to it.
In this moment, if you let yourself go there wonder becomes a doorway. A step back in time, a threshold into relationship with a connection to something bigger than we are. It could be connection to the sacred or simply connection to being present to what rises within us, what divine gift we are being giving in our willingness to be present to the wonder of what we are witnessing. A way of becoming porous enough to encounter mystery again. And remember that life is not just a problem to solve, but also something to participate in, something to behold with new eyes.
So today we might ask:
Where have I stopped noticing and WHY? When was the last time I gave myself permission to be amazed? What might change if I moved through this week with just a little more curiosity, playfulness, a little less certainty?
May we stay open to surprise.
May we remember that ordinary things are often not ordinary at all.
May we cultivate the courage to be interrupted by beauty.
And may wonder guide us, again and again,
toward the sacred however we define that and the wonder-ful surprises and mysteries that are just waiting for us to turn our gaze towards them!