I find that the closer I get to the ground (the earth), the more opportunities I have to wonder. In five square feet of garden, one finds tiny, tenacious, seedlings, colorful minerals, bird feathers, unknown insects, etc. Of course, once down on our knees, at our age, the challenge becomes getting back up again... sigh.
Yep. That's it exactly Janice. God bless us. I once hiked 85 miles across the waistband of Scotland! Now I am reduced to half a mile a day. For everything, there is a season, right?
I think it was Liz Gilbert who talked about following our curiosity rather than the myth of finding our purpose. I've always loved this idea and it seems to follow that wonder and curiosity are linked. I appreciate that you mentioned your upbringing because I think that has a lot to do with my own (lack of) wonder. The things I wondered about weren't found to be valuable in my family so they kind of got squashed. Great essay Janice, thanks.
Hi Donna, Yes, that seemed to be the way of things, unfortunately. The values I grew up with were to follow the rules. My family didn't seem to care about allowing curiosity and wonder to flourish.
Writing a recent guest article about wonder opened a door for me.
I find that the closer I get to the ground (the earth), the more opportunities I have to wonder. In five square feet of garden, one finds tiny, tenacious, seedlings, colorful minerals, bird feathers, unknown insects, etc. Of course, once down on our knees, at our age, the challenge becomes getting back up again... sigh.
Hi Sharron, So true, nature provides us with so many things to wonder about - and then we have to wonder how we are going to get up.
Yep. That's it exactly Janice. God bless us. I once hiked 85 miles across the waistband of Scotland! Now I am reduced to half a mile a day. For everything, there is a season, right?
I think it was Liz Gilbert who talked about following our curiosity rather than the myth of finding our purpose. I've always loved this idea and it seems to follow that wonder and curiosity are linked. I appreciate that you mentioned your upbringing because I think that has a lot to do with my own (lack of) wonder. The things I wondered about weren't found to be valuable in my family so they kind of got squashed. Great essay Janice, thanks.
Hi Donna, Yes, that seemed to be the way of things, unfortunately. The values I grew up with were to follow the rules. My family didn't seem to care about allowing curiosity and wonder to flourish.