"For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?
Rachel Carson, "The Sense of Wonder"
#MyWordForToday is #Wonder
Wonder also known as "marvel" is intrinsically linked to curiosity. Curiosity helps us to explore stuff which may lead us to see that thing, in a totally different light.
Wonder may also be known as perspective, leading us to marvel, even at the seemingly mundane things.
I am inclined to agree with Jesse Prinz who said that "wonder may be humanity's most important emotion"... It is that one emotion that has inspired our greatest achievements in science, arts and religion".
Wonder is what stops us in our tracks, as we pause to marvel at an intricate design, a natural phenomenon, or even the way bees make honey.
Wonder is what keeps me glued to Discovery Channel's "How Do They Do It", learning how salted almonds are made.
Wonder is what makes me grow beans in a plastic bowl, with cotton wool as soil and watch it blossom, in three days, before transplanting it.
I daresay Gynecologists, no matter how many births they attend to, still marvel at how a woman pushes a baby, through that 10cm narrow cavity.
Wonder is a wonderful emotion, that if allowed to flourish, can cause us to be exceedingly thankful. I kid you not.
Being thankful does not cause our challenges to fly away, but it might cause us to see it in a different light, a different perspective…..the simple wonders of life.
In Ekiti State, SW Nigeria, there is the mysterious "Ikogosi Warm Springs", which has a warm spring flowing, side by side, by it, another spring, a cold one.
I mean 🤸♂️🤸♂️🤸♂️ isn't that wonderful?
One of the myths surrounding it is that the warm and cold springs were the two wives of a great hunter. One wife was said to be temperamental, while the other was quiet.
One day, the two wives had a fight and after being rebuked by their husband, the temperamental wife mystically changed to the warm spring, while the quiet one turned to the cold spring. (I'm still wondering why the cold one chose to turn though) 😅
There are many things that cause us to go slack-eyed when we behold them. Particularly in nature, the waterfalls, the mountains, the way the flowers grow wild, free and colourful.
It is this slack eyedness in us that makes me disagree that we lose our sense of wonder as adults.
What I believe happens to us, is that we stop finding pleasure, in simple things. One day, our nine-year-old said I cannot wait to be as grown as you, so I can do XYZ.
I looked at her with such sadness, that she was startled and sought to know why my face was that sad.
I told her to enjoy being a child as much as she could. Adulting is not as attractive as she thinks it is. In fact, adulting is a scam. I cannot indulge, with reckless abandon in the kinds of play as she could. I have to be responsible, pay bills etc. 🙄
All of these can rob one of enjoying life's simple pleasures (awwww, I miss my irresponsible days). 😓😂
Well, something shifted in me that day. I realised I was allowing adulthood to rob me of some of life's beautiful moments.
I then resolved to revel more in those simple joys, reconnect with nature to soothe me in my times of distress, watch more PBS Station cartoons, laugh and dance like there are no bills to be paid.
So now, I sit with our four-year-old and gist about nothing. We will chuckle and LOL as we have "moving conversations" about absolutely nothing.
Dr Seuss did say that our brains in order to be more brainy needs "nonsense".
It is scientifically proven that engaging in nonsense, can recalibrate our brains to be more productive. All hail Seuss who chose humour over dogmatism. 🙌🏽
Wonder, many times requires living like a child i.e. being fully present in a moment. Taking time to assimilate and appreciate the people and things around us. Like I said before, wonder is a perspective.
There is a wonder to be seen or felt in almost anything.
I do believe that Rachel Carson although being a marine biologist, was somewhat inspired by the Bible.
One of her quotes is closely related to Psalms 107 from Verse 23 where it said: "Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep". How so very profound.
As a young girl, I learnt this moving hymn
" Oh Lord, my God! when I in awesome wonder, consider the works, thy hands hath made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul my saviour God to Thee......"
I believe that your journey on wonder can start from here.
Cheers to being a 4-year-old with big eyes rounded in wonder again.
This blog is dedicated to my friend Kayode Adejumo-Bello (May the wonders of this world never go unseen by you).
Namaste 🙏🏽
Bibireosefowora 💌
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