Amy Lu's View

I’m wondering about wonder.

Yesterday I came across the essay “The Wonder of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult” by Sarah S. Davis. The title immediately grabbed my interest as I’m a big fan of reading childrens’ books. 

As I perused the essay, I was most struck by this line “To seek wonder is an act of bravery.”

Whoa…bravery? I had just been reading how 2022 could be seen as a time for bravery and courage–it’s now the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese Zodiac, and the Tiger potentially symbolizes bravery. Mind officially blown. 

Sarah Davis’ essay explores how children’s literature and fantasy/sci-fi in general open us up to wonder through exposing us to worlds beyond our normal experiences. I’m pretty down with that. I’m a geek because I love the sense of wonder the genre generates. Not surprisingly, I have a well-developed suspension of disbelief muscle. I love musicals and have no problem with people bursting into song.

I’m definitely sold on wonder, especially as experienced through fantastical stories. But how do I cultivate wonder in my mundane, everyday life?

Maybe I should back up a bit…What is wonder? I often casually equate it with curiosity (“I wonder why StanLee ate that?”) but I think it’s so much more. Curiosity may be a component, but to me it suggests…awe, delight, gratitude. 

I can’t experience wonder without paying attention and being present. I’m not going to be aware of the amazing colors of the sunset or the softness of my cats’ fur if I’m too distracted. 

I’m definitely sold on the value of wonder, but why does it take bravery?

Sarah Davis also writes: “We need to prime ourself to look at and experience our world through fresh eyes, to accept the inspiration that wonder creates, to brave the scary thought that anything — safe or otherwise — could happen. To seek wonder is to be vulnerable, to risk hurt and pain, to go beyond the logic of the world we know, to chance that we’ll run up against evil.

ANYTHING can happen–fun, boring, sad, amazing, painful, profound, goofy. 

This new year of 2022 really does seem like a very appropriate time to open up to wonder. We’re very aware that we don’t know what’s going to happen, but wonder can be waiting for us, whether we’re getting all dolled up for a night out around other humans, or snuggling up with our pets in our comfy pants. 

Wonder is an act of courage because it may not last and we end up feeling and looking silly. Wonder opens us up to acknowledging not only things that delight us, but also things that scare us. Wonder makes us treasure our world and our everyday gifts, and the more we treasure these ephemeral things, the more we’ll hurt when they are inevitably gone. 

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “I Wonder as I Wander,” as performed by Ed Ames. It’s a beautiful, but very somber, almost depressing song. But I wonder if I can find everyday inspiration in it? I certainly do my fair share of daily wandering, if not literally–although I do a surprising amount of wandering around our relatively small house–but figuratively in my thoughts and emotions. Wandering seems like a side effect of distraction, but perhaps I can combine wandering with intentional wondering? 

I hope in this new year of the Tiger I’m brave and increase my capacity for experiencing wonder and all the joy, awe, vulnerability and even fear it brings.

But I’m never going to stop wondering what StanLee just ate.