Living in Wonder

For men were first led to study philosophy, as indeed they are today, by wonder.
(Aristotle, Metaphysics 982b, tr. A.E. Taylor)

For Aristotle, this kind of wonder was a feeling of being perplexed, a questioning that would lead to knowledge and wisdom. I like this kind of wonder, that causes questions and inquiry. It can lead to experiments, creativity and innovation. It can be the spark that generates great ideas, new ways of thinking and living.

More recently I have been taken with a different kind of wonder. The kind that makes you pause, sit up and say ‘Wow.’ The kind that is so often associated with children when they discover something new. Their eyes are transfixed; some kind of miracle has occurred and they delight in being part of this experience.

It has been one of those weeks that has found me grumbling about a variety of things. A friend of mine was out and about exploring new places in her local area. She said, ‘When you are looking for goodness you see it everywhere.’ When I read my friend’s thoughts it made me think, what am I looking for? It’s so much easier to grumble or complain, but what do I miss when I am focused on the negative?

Wonder is associated with childlikeness and perhaps seen as a bit naïve, but wonder can have a transformative effect. It allows us to be fully present – we are lost in the moment of awe and admiration. We allow ourselves to be fully there not worrying about the future or dwelling on the past.

Sitting in the shade in a friend’s garden, someone commented about the birds overhead. As we looked up, we saw birds of prey soaring above us. It was an opportunity to marvel at the gift of flight, freedom, the beauty of their wing spans and the majesty of their ascension. Our senses were captivated and our vision expanded. Wonder invites us to look beyond ourselves.

Most dictionary definitions include the word astonishment in their explanations. Whilst this is true, wonder can be broader than those sights that make us gasp. It can be noticing the detail of the everyday. Observing something new about an item that we have previously failed to see. It doesn’t have to be within nature, although that is an obvious place to look. I am enjoying particular lines in the novel I am reading. The images that are conjured up by just one line of well crafted words. I read them again. It brings enjoyment and inspiration.

The heat and sunshine call for us to slow down. It is the perfect opportunity to change perspective. To consider what we are looking for and how we are looking at what is before us. There is an invitation to look a little closer, a little deeper, for a little longer and embrace the now of wonder.