Our Sense of Wonder

 

I watch Dylan in our back yard as I sit in the warm sun, writing. He’s been laying in the same spot for 5 minutes. (That’s a long time for a 4 year old boy!) Quietly I get up and walk over to where he is. Beside our massive maple tree he lays in half shade, half sun as he separates the cool blades of grass. He’s talking very quietly, every now and then picking up things between his fingers. He sets one on a rock beside him, a tiny little ant no bigger than the size of a grain of rice crawls off the moment he sets her down. There he is completely lost in the moment, totally unaware I am there, standing two feet behind him. I move in closer, sitting beside him. His face lights up as he begins to tell me…”Mom! Ants! Many of them!” Dylan continues on how the rock is an island and the ants are surrounded by an ocean and he’s bringing them to safety. He watches intensely as the ants crawl on his arm…their shadows dancing upon his warm skin. Our world stops as I too loose myself in the magical wonder of my son’s imagination.

 

Can you remember back to when everything was just absolutely amazing to you? Do you remember when you were in awe at the sight of leaves falling or the oceans waves crashing at your feet? Can you remember being so focused digging in the dirt at your bare feet that the rest of the world and the voices around you faded far off into the distance? More than likely, for the majority, these memories are traced back to when you were a child. More than likely the memories are traced back to before the harsh realities of the of the world got to you…the harsh realities now finding a permanent place in your current over scheduled days. The glorious long days of intentional focused attention quickly fleeing as the pressures in school started or worse yet, forced away by the ‘standards’ of how we are perceived we ‘should’ be. The sense of wonder…once gone, unless intentionally brought back, could appear to be gone forever.

We are all born with it, our sense of wonder. The amazing sense of awe and curiosity. Yet being told over and over again what’s ‘right’, what we ‘have’ to do, where we ‘have’  to be, how we ‘should’ look or dress shapes us. It not only shapes us but it can brutally seem kill our inborn amazing sense of wonder. It can shape us so much so that we become even unrecognizable to our own selves.

Yet that sense of wonder you were born with is still there, in some of us buried way, way deeper than in others. Buried sometimes under years and years and years of the harsh side of life, continually hitting hard. Yet it’s there, just as it was as a child. The beauty that surrounds every single one of us every single day hasn’t changed, it’s just our perception of it that has.

Flowers still bloom beautifully lighting up the paths we walk along, rocks are still as unique as every single one of us. The water hits our skin the same way it did as we’d play in the rain as a child…only one day came along that we decided to run from it instead of run in it. The little bugs that used to crawl beside us as a child as we’d run wildly chasing them, happily scooping them up are no different now, yet now in our minds they have become these horribly disgusting creatures that don’t deserve a place in this world. ( Ok, I will admit I feel that for a couple of them).  The watercolor paint still bleeds along the crisp white paper in the exact same way, yet many have lost their sense to create. The arms of our loved ones, the ones closest to our hearts, may still be open to us…yet do we reach for them with such excitement we did as a child or do we now take them for granted or shy away?

This world is absolutely amazing in infinite ways. Our sense of wonder did not fade or die because we’ve ‘seen it all’ because I don’t care who you are, you will never see it all. New discoveries are found every day. Yet if you find yourself caught up in the common ‘rat race’ against time, or find you’ve lost yourself in beliefs of how you ‘should’ be, which are the furthest beliefs from the truth you hold, more than likely your sense of wonder has faded along side with the time that has passed. Outside beliefs shaping you, causing you too loose yourself  and sense of wonder along the way.

Yet it’s only when you stop and really look around you or close your eyes and really listen to the sounds around you, can you dig up that curiosity again. Picking up a book and reading, amazing the information packed between the pages, ready for that right person to read…to continue on with their curiosity and love of learning that was once there as a child.

Our sense of wonder isn’t us just sitting there ‘wondering’ about something. It’s getting there…right there in it involving every sense we have. Our touch, taste, smell, sound and sight. It’s the way it makes us feel. It’s the opportunity to get lost again. Lost into something so intensely that time stops,  allowing nothing else to flood our mind other then the task at hand.

Regaining your sense of wonder is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. It not only can grow your mind and your imagination but it can open new doors for you. It can lead you to places you never thought possible. You can learn things you never imagined. It will help keep you young. It will keep your mind sharp. It will expose to you the raw beauty of life once again. Perhaps you will develop a stronger sense of appreciation once again….for all things.

Bringing back your sense of wonder will help time feel as if it actually slowed down. Why do you think the days are so long for a child? It’s simple, they get lost in the moments. They don’t live in the past or future, they live in the now. Every little sound, sight and feel are explored. Life is lived. Now I’m not saying we should all go around on our hands and knees digging in the dirt. (Although I’m not stopping you!) But we should all stop and slow down.

Stepping out to notice the blooms of the flowers before you or the shapes of the leaves on the trees. Smell once again the breeze of a summers night or feel the cool rain splash your skin. Turn off your air and keep your windows open or at least open your windows at 5 am and listen to the chorus of birds outside. Plant a garden, getting lost while digging in the soil or have a cold ice cream along the seashore as you walk in the waves. Pay attention to the design of the single snowflakes that fall. Yes, every one of them really is different. Pick up that book. Try new exciting foods. Travel to places you never imagined you’d go. Pay attention to the way the light hits the same things throughout the day. Get lost outside again. Stop and notice what’s around you. Really take it in.

All of what was there when we were children with the greatest sense of wonder in the world is still there. Why let the pressures of the everyday hectic world rob you of it? Why let anything or anyone rob you of it? As the sun fades ending one day and now rises as a new day begins, it’s up to you to find it again. Start today. Step outside into nature, it can be the best place you can lose yourself. Get lost into that magical world that awaits you and brings your imagination and sense of wonder back to life.