The power of wonder
Oct 8th, 2008 by spaceagesage
Wonder
It is an amazing concept —
Astonishment at something amazingly mysterious or new
The capacity to marvel with delight, awe, or surprise
The ability to remain positive and curious about all things
It seems like something we did a lot of as a kid. We’d wonder:
- why the sky is blue and how honey comes from bees
- will jumping off the roof with an umbrella as a parachute will really work
- about the night sky, thunder, and why the moon seemed bigger on the horizon
- why some relatives were nice and others grumpy
- how much trouble those 10 water balloons might make for us
- how tadpoles turned into frogs
- how fast we could make our bikes go downhill
- about rainbows, tumbling dyers, and how to vacuum a dog.
In adulthood, the child-like Wonderer in us seems buried in paperwork, crushed between must-do lists, and trampled by our rush to “the next thing.”
But it is the Wonderer with in us that refuses to accept limits, to live with a closed mind, and to run from risk. The Wonderer is the balance to the Skeptic. It is the positive mindset of the Wonder that allows us to ask,
What more is there?
What else is possible?
Is there more to life than what is on my plate right now?
In the book The Artist’s Way at Work, the authors write:
If we believe we are operating solely on our own devices, we set limits for ourselves that are far too low. If we don’t believe in a helpful force – call it God, the universe, the Tao, what have you – then everything is up to us …{and yet} It is one of the paradoxes of the business world that business stars are great believers. Titans dare. Titans take risks. Titans expand. They are great Wonderers. Business greats talk of listening to their guts, “following my hunches.” Their eyes must learn to see both the vision and the reality, to hold the delicate tension between the two.
With that thought, the authors add:
If we believe in a stingy God, then we may get some help, but not much. Or the help will come with a price. We may in fact decide just how much help God can give us. We may look at a new venture and decide it’s too much for us rather than give it a try … If we have a belief that goes something like along the lines of “Somebody up there likes me,” we may be more inclined to take positive, calculated risk, believing that it all will work out, and it most likely will.
Have you ever noticed how a sense of wonder allows us to see even catastrophe through curiosity, instead of panic. This curiosity might allow us to wonder this way (quoting the book again):
I wonder what the lesson is here.
I wonder how we deal with this.
I wonder where I might be happier working, if it comes to that.
I wonder if this might not have a silver lining
As the writers put it succinctly: The Wonderer, in short, guides us toward conscious, learned optimism.
When was the last time you wondered? Sure, you probably have the blue sky and tadpole thing figured out by now, and the jump off the roof went rather badly, but do you stop to wonder at the amazing things in our world?
- The fall foliage turning bright colors for a short season
- The unsung kindness of a friend
- A love deeply shared
- A sunset or sunrise painting the clouds with reddish and orange hues
- The cool “Aha!” moments when something really clicks for us
- The freedom to write and blog
- The option to choose your attitude
- A song bird singing its heart out to the world
- The taste of food when breaking bread with long-time friends or family long absent
- The absolutely innocent and genuine smile on a baby’s face
Or how about these wonderings:
- I wonder if writing a guest post might increase my blog traffic
- I wonder if I shouldn’t try that new plug-in
- I wonder if my current niche is the best place for my writing
- I wonder if my readers know how much their comments mean to me
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Find something to wonder about and share it with us, won’t you?
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{REMINDER: I’m still on my media fast (this is a pre-scheduled post), and won’t be responding to comments, but feel free to enjoy each other’s comments!}
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I like the idea of adopting a child-like curiosity in our approach to life. We will see much more, if only we are open to all possibilities. Everything small can invoke a sense of wonder, as you’ve shown. I love the challenge that you’ve put out to your readers. Thanks!
I wonder all the time. As I may have mentioned, my basic philosophy is:
“Stay curious and open to life. No matter what happens keep learning and growing. Find what you love to do and find a way to share it with others.”
Hi SpaceAgeSage. “If we believe we are operating solely on our own devices, we set limits for ourselves that are far too low.” I’m growing to understand this in my life right now. It is magic! And I love those Aha moments when something just clicks too.