This is one of my favorite poems. It reminds me...
Wonder is Easy
"Wonder is easy when you travel to desert islands in search of experiences you have never imagined, in search of something you have never seen before,
in search of wonder, the shock of surprise. It is easy, and it’s cheap.
It’s not what the world asks of us.
To be worthy of the astonishing world, a sense of wonder will be a way of life,
In every place and time, no matter how familiar: to listen in the dark of every night,
to praise the mystery of every returning day, to be astonished again and again,
to be grateful with an intensity that cannot be distinguished from joy."
Kathleen Dean Moore
Wonder is easy.. or is it? Is being in a state of wonder, keeping your curiosity alive is this easy? Enjoyable yes, but easy...I'm not so sure. There is another quote by Bernard Shaw..."We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing"
Wonder is a lot like playing. It's a muscle, a practice, a way of seeing the world. Wonder needs cultivating, nourishment, exploration. It's like water continually changing. To see wonder in the world, in normal ordinary days this is extraordinary. Wonder is a gift. It's what we pass by on the way.
There is no getting there. Wonder is a state of being not a destination. It's a place your stumble upon, because you are open, curious, expecting.
In a world of wildfires and smoke, hurricanes in unexpected places, unsettled politics... to maintain our sanity our joy, wonder and play need to be high on our priorities. To take a pause from the news and explore - delight in- find awe here right now. This makes everything a little ok because in the midst of life wonder always lives. We may not see wonder but that's only because we forgot to look.
Happy travels my friend. Find wonder everywhere...be astonished again and again.
Denise
