How often do you look at something with a childlike sense of wonder? When was the last time you drew lines in the stars or saw animals in the clouds? When was the last time you sat with a piece of art (music, books, etc.) and allowed yourself to be amazed by it? When was the last time you did something just to feel the wind in your hair? As our lives become complicated and busy, we shift more and more of our lives to our subconscious. We eat while looking at a screen, look out a window without ever opening it, and execute tasks without giving them any attention; we live in auto-pilot.
As I think of what it means not to think, I realize less of my life is spent in auto-pilot because of my memory issues. I have to ‘reinvent the wheel’ constantly with virtually everything. However, I still understand the premise behind having my mind and actions be in different places. The adage ‘stop and smell the roses’ comes to mind, a tidbit of wisdom to return from auto-pilot and rejoin the real world. It reminds us to be present and aware of our surroundings. How often do we look at the same thing every day without ever noticing it? Regrettably, it may not be until that thing is no longer there that we realize it is missing, and we missed it.
When we are enjoying a sense of wonder, we yearn for experience. We want to learn more, be engaged, live more. The inspiration and appreciation inspired by allowing ourselves to be curious yields an organic passion for life. Our curiosity reveals a new path to tread, full of unique aspects of life to enjoy. Experiencing life full of wonder is the opposite of judgment. Judgment pulls us away from experience, away from the present, and into our minds. Wonder, however, is rooted in the present. If we wax nostalgic about something noteworthy, we don’t experience the same excitement for the potential of experiencing it.
The bends of the river of life are many. Some have rocks and rapids, some are slow and flat, whereas others are straight and fast. However, all along the river are wondrous things: the birds in the sky, the trees we pass by, the rounded stones below. When we decide to get out of the river to take a picture of it, we aren’t enjoying it in the present. By judging this is worth appreciating in the future, we miss out on enjoying it to its fullest. There are times wherein the moment has passed, and we want its memory so we capture it. However, if we try to judge all of life’s moments as capture-worthy, we dilute the meaning of those extraordinary times. It is ok to flow along the river without trying to grasp the water in your hands – you’ll only manage a couple of drops here and there.
How do we enjoy a sense of wonder about the world around us? We practice mindfulness and meditation. Meditation is how we re-train our attention away from consumerism, the endless ‘hamster wheel’ of work or anxiety, enabling us to live in the present. The other side of meditation is rest. By focusing our attention on our actions, be it breathing, eating, walking, or a hobby, we pull ourselves away from the mobius loop of being lost in our minds. By removing ourselves from the endless thoughts, we give ourselves some rest. By being more rested, we have more faculties available to live with intention and pursue what is meaningful. While we move towards meaning, we enjoy life and the world around us, and perhaps the river of life takes us on a bend we didn’t expect but find gratitude downstream for having progressed in the new direction.
A sense of wonder, like joy, isn’t something to find. It exists within us, and all we need is to be present with ourselves to experience it. Give yourself the time and space to open the window, to listen to that song, to put your hiking shoes on. We can enjoy so many things about life, but we tend to focus on the minority of negatives. The negatives in life shouldn’t be ignored, but if we only focus on them, we lose sight of everything else. “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” as the phrase goes, and it is ok. Take the time to see the progress of life as it unfolds, do your best not to force it along or prevent it from happening.
The consequence of fostering a sense of wonder and joy is innocence. Not the naive innocence of youth but a resilient spirit built from the conscious act of letting go of the pain keeping us in the past. Chasing ‘more and more,’ being consumed by consumerism, going through the motions of meaningless things do not contribute to resiliency. On the contrary, they are momentary avenues of escape from the life we yearn for internally. Innocence is the ability to experience life without fear of harm.
Pain comes in many forms, often self-inflicted. We judge others as harmful, and so we fear them. It could be something smaller like being scolded or a more significant and impactful consequence. Perhaps we judge them because we assume they are judging us, chasing status symbols to combat the perceived judgment. How often could we allow our inner joy to be felt if we were to cease the judgments altogether? Is a giggling child watching a dolphin swim by judging the dolphin or worried about judgment from it? Is a grandfather sitting on the porch smiling, watching his family play in the yard concerned about a fight? Are the young adults racing each other on their bikes, giving mental space to arguments? Practicing a judgmental mind and being overly worried about the fear of consequences strips our innocence.
Innocence, once lost, can be regained. I didn’t believe it could for years, decades. Living in the west, I am constantly around jaded people who have given up on themselves. They’ve come to a resignation about their situation and given up hope. Without hope, they have lost meaning. Without meaning, there is no sense of wonder and joy. I lived that life for far too long. However, it is up to us to assign meaning every day. Through meaning, through intention, we give ourselves a path to move forward. By moving forward, we gain new perspectives and experiences. These experiences help us take action to reach non-action. By practicing non-action, we can notice the world around us. Being one with our environment allows us to appreciate it for what it is and find all the things we missed before. If we allow ourselves to experience the new without fear of harm and the aspects of life we enjoy day to day, we cultivate an innocent heart. In innocence, there is peace, and deep down, isn’t that what we all seek? Cultivate yours; you are worth it.