Wondering is a holy practice, full of magic, hope and faith

This feature is part of Mindstream’s participation in the Wellness Moonshot, an awareness campaign for a world free of preventable disease that’s led by The Global Wellness Institute. View our full package for the February 2021 theme of WONDER, full of research and reflections.

By Liza Horan, Editor

Wondering is a holy practice. There’s magic, humility and reverence in it. If we are not curious, moved or inspired by experiences, are we truly living — or just going through the motions? Just as it takes confidence to be vulnerable, it takes self-esteem to be filled with wonder. It says, “I don’t fully understand this, but I appreciate its power to affect me,” and “I am open to possibility.” When something inspires us to marvel, it’s a raw feeling that often comes as a surprise. Yet it can move from heart to head as we seek to understand the how or why of it. I am often in a state of wonder, curious to understand how things work. 

Surprisingly, the arrival of every season feels like it’s the first time. Feeling the warm beams of sun on my face this past week gets me excited that spring is nearly upon us. On my daily walks, I’ve gotten reassurance hearing the spirited birdsong that’s grown louder, spotting green buds pushing forth from dormant bushes, and stepping clear of the crocus and snowdrop flowers along the path in my local park.

Then it’ll be that first warm breeze that signals summer, just as the fresh, crisp air will announce autumn. While I’m eager now to shed my winter coat and to walk into the wafting fragrance of colourful flowers in my neighbourhood, I know that at some point I’ll want to be cosy by the fire again later in the year.

Nature is a great source of wonder — the physical and the metaphysical. I wonder every day at the cosmos, from the stars, the moon and the sun to my soul, the spirit energies that surround me, and my Higher Self.

If we are willing to let our thinking minds surrender to our senses occasionally, we can be reminded just how magical this life experience is. Sure it’s got tough spots, but witnessing the wonders surrounding us is powerful. It shows that we don’t know everything, we can’t know how everything works, and that we ought to allow some room for the unknown. There must be some reason, meaning and logic to it on some level, and not knowing it — but accepting it — requires faith.

Just as the seasons change, whether we are ready or not, it’s encouraging to know life is cyclical; it will go on, despite whatever stressor or emergency has my rapt attention now. Wondering can bring the perspective that “this too shall pass.” And that is hope.

There are forces at work that I may not understand, but there is a sophisticated, elegant, reliable system at play. I’m relieved to believe it. I’m wonder-filled at it.

#wellnessmoonshot #wonder

Learn more about The Wellness Moonshot on GlobalWellnessInstitute.com.