Open Your Eyes to Wonder

We live in such a fast-paced world so preoccupied by the next thing on our to-do list that we are actually missing out. When was the last time you were awe-struck by something beautiful and amazing? Maybe the birth of a baby? An especially beautiful array of color at sunset? Experiencing wonder can have a positive impact on our health and quality of life. Too many people have their noses buried in their screens and miss what is right in front of them. We don’t need Google to answer all of our questions or Disney to fill our imaginations. And we don’t need to go on a grand vacation (although it is nice). On the contrary, we just need to open our eyes and minds to the marvels around us every day.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good a dead, his eyes are closed. – Albert Einstein

The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

At the County fair children and adults love watching the miracle of life unfold before their eyes at the chick hatchery. We silently cheer for the baby chick as it wobbles around in its new environment. Talk to a beekeeper and learn how we get honey from an insect. It’s an amazing feat of nature. My father once took a small piece of grass and placed it over the ant hill and told us to watch. Within seconds the ant patrol came up and removed the object blocking their path. How do they know what to do?

A Lesson from the Ant: 6 You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. 7 Nobody has to tell it what to do. 8 All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions Prov 6:6-8 (MSG)

Living in New England, I’ve been to the ocean many times in my life but if I let my eyes gaze to the end of the horizon, it allows me to see past my present place , to imagine what lies past the edges and what creatures live beneath the sea. Rest, relax and imagine. It sounds silly but people actually go to the seashore during storms. They are drawn by the immense power of the winds and waves and want to experience something bigger than themselves.

In the the Sayings of Agur we read: 18 Three things amaze me, no, four things I’ll never understand— 19 how an eagle flies so high in the sky, how a snake glides over a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, why adolescents act the way they do. Prov 30:18-19 (MSG)

We can all look up at the moon and stars but there is such a limited view in the city and suburbs. Instead, go to the country side, away from the lights and noise, where the sky is filled with countless stars, vast and unending . Stand still and be amazed at the beautiful expanse of the heavens.

O, Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder. Consider all the works Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power thru-out the universe displayed. Then sings my soul….. from How Great Thou Art

The Pandemic crisis caused many of us to shut down and focus inward. We have been bombarded by negative media and statistics as well as many real losses. As we regain a sense of normality put down your tablets and lists, look up and around. This is an act of soul care that is FREE – to stop, deep breathe and count blessings instead of losses. Do not lose the joy of wonder.

Other verses to read: Job 38, Psalm 104, Psalm 139,