Practicing and Receiving All That This Moment Has To Offer Us
In the depths of my being, I yearn to kindle, rekindle, and consistently practice Wonder.
But what do I mean by that? And why would I want that?
Wonder is not just an abstract concept; it is an experience, a state of being. Even as I attempt to convey it in words, I find it challenging to describe the appearance of the dawn light, casting peach and blue gradients upon the morning sky, while the trees silhouette themselves and their leaves, needles, and textures begin to emerge in their intricate detail. All of this emerging, made possible by a distant star, situated a staggering 93 million miles away. This immense source of energy, much of it invisible and perilous, delicately fosters the existence of diverse life forms – from blooming flowers to majestic animals, including dogs, cats, elephants, whales, birds, and you and I. Amidst the subtle dance of the Earth’s rotations and axis-tilts, icy glaciers, arid deserts, and lush forests are born. And all of this cosmic wonder occurs within a universe teeming with countless stars, potentially only a fraction of what truly exists.
As I sit here witnessing this with my coffee, the flotsam of to-dos enter and comingle: preparing breakfast, taking out the recycling, and timing my bike commute to the office to dodge the worst of the car traffic. The cat yowls in the hallway, demanding his own breakfast. Simultaneously, the world outside the window unfurls its own narrative. Now the dog comes running in at full-power puppy energy, happy as can be, completely unaware and unconcerned by the questions of light and dawn and planets spinning around the stars.
In this moment, I consciously embrace the emerging, quickening present moment, fully immersed and connected to it all.
The practice of cultivating Wonder invites us to delve into the profound amidst the ordinary, until the two comingle, and become the same. You, in your ordinariness are also incomprehensibly miraculous.
As we pause to contemplate the interplay of celestial and mortal bodies, the seen and unseen, we expand as we momentarily escape what is often confused as mundane. We have available to us energies that instill in us a deep sense of appreciation. We can learn to treasure these moments of awareness, for they remind us of the vastness and enchantment that surround us, allowing us to live with a renewed sense of gratitude and wonder.
For a moment, I am here, aware and present to all of this, for just this moment.
I invite you into the preciousness of this moment. Pause for 30 seconds if that’s all you have to offer, take a deep, cleansing breath, and simply look around. Try it for today – maybe nothing special happens. But try it again tomorrow. Do it for a week, a daily offering of 30 seconds of your awareness, given over to the moment. May it bless you!