500 Words On….Wonder.

I know some people who never seem to wonder. They are absolutely certain about a great many things, so certain, in fact, that their minds have closed completely to the possibility that they might not, in all truth, be correct in every circumstance.

And yet, there is a certain desperation in that type of stranglehold on an opinion or philosophy that suggests a lack of deep, true belief arrived at through one’s own experiences and reflection. There is a need to clutch and grasp at  one concrete version of truth, because too much of their perceived reality depends upon these things they believe to be true, and have based their lives upon.

And what they lose, in the process, is wonder. Not just wondering about whether other possibilities, greater joy, and deeper peace exist – but wonder.

All wonder.

The childlike wonder of living in the moment, of being enchanted, or delighted, or awed…

The wonder regarding the past, and whether there might be patterns or lessons there that can lead us to new understandings and deeper peace now, and in our futures…

Wonder about the present- the time spent pondering, musing, and composting, drawing new connections between what has gone before, and what may happen in the future, and if there is a possibility that we are living by precepts that are no longer true for us, trying to maintain relationships that are rigid, inflexible, and cannot sustain or nourish anyone involved, if the life we are living is one of our own conscious choosing, or the to-date result of living according to what we thought others expected, without ever really considering if this is what we ourselves want…

The type of wonder that allows us to ask if we are giving ourselves as fully as we can to our cherished ones, if we know them as fully as we are able, if we are connecting on a level that is mutually beneficial. Are we just going though the motions with them, or are we present in each moment, celebrating and reveling together through the happy times, and there to lend what support we can when life presents challenges…?

The ability to wonder if we’re giving enough of ourselves to ourselves, filling ourselves up from within, so that we have enough to share freely without risking our own peace and well-being….

The ability to evaluate all these things, and then to find a path to making needed changes, are vital to living a life that can joyfully evolve along with us….

This type of wonder opens us up in new ways, lets us see possibilities that are outside the expected, allows us to free our dreams from bondage and to dare to believe that we can attain them, the courage to step, timidly or boldly, away from the known and safe, to move alone across the country, to change the course of our parenting, our loves, our families, our careers,  our lives…

And, while we wonder, there will be delight, and sorrow, and a life lived with our blood and our souls pulsing through our wide-open veins, primed by the pumping of a full and joyful heart.