Consider This…
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” —Albert Einstein
As my book group wrapped up its discussion last week of Margaret Renkl’s book, The Comfort of Crows, I spoke about one of the essays that got me thinking about all the “miracles” in the natural world waiting for us to notice and celebrate them.
Renkl tells the tale of her family’s history with the night-blooming cereus plant. Known to bloom only one night a year—if you’re lucky, her brother Billy texted her one afternoon to announce his cereus had a new bud expected to open that night. So, Margaret jumped in her car to drive more than fifty miles to witness this miracle with others.
“The bud of a night-blooming cereus is a feat of botanical magic,
big enough to span the full length of a human hand.”
— Margaret Renkl
Struck by her decision to take advantage of the wonder and awe this experience could offer, I loved that Renkl didn’t think twice about taking precious time and gas to drive to hopefully see this magical event (she did). As she noted in her essay, this miracle flower didn’t address the drought or other big issues happening at the time, but it gave her something precious:
“For an hour, just this once, it made me remember what it feels like when the world is exactly as it must be, and I am exactly where I belong.”
— Margaret Renkl
As Eremos seeks to support you in having a Joyful July, we invite you to look for the experiences, stories, and wisdom that remind you there is so much to be in a state of wonder and awe about—that all is right with the world, if only for those moments of awe. We just need to make our search for wonder and awe a priority.
This 4th of July may be challenging, as many think about the divisiveness in our country and challenges to our freedoms. Consider seeking awe-inspiring stories from history or present-day miracles to remind you that the potential for greatness abounds.
As you seek out experiences of wonder and awe, may you be rewarded with blessings of hope, peace, and joyful possibilities for the future.
It’s Worth Seeking…
“Wonder, the mental state of openness, questioning, curiosity, and embracing mystery, arises out of experiences of awe. In our studies, people who find more everyday awe show evidence of living with wonder. They are more open to new ideas. To what is unknown. To what language can’t describe. To the absurd. To seeking new knowledge…”
—Dacher Keltner
Fuel for the Soul
“Nothing is more contagious than genuine love and genuine care. Nothing is more exhilarating than authentic awe and wonder. Nothing is more exciting than to witness people having the courage to fight for their highest vision.”
―Michael Lerner
In Awe of Trees
“To early man, trees were objects of awe and wonder. The mystery of their growth, the movement of their leaves and branches, the way they seemed to die and come again to life in spring, the sudden growth of the plant from the seed – all these appeared to be miracles as indeed they still are, miracles of nature!” ―Ruskin Bond
In the Fourth of July Parade
Right down the middle of main street
the woman with the long red braids
and fairy wings strapped to her back
rode a unicycle more than two times
taller than she was—rode it with balance
and grace, her arms stretched out,
as if swimming through gravity,
as if embracing space—her smile an invitation
to join in her bliss. How simple it is, really,
to make of ourselves a gate that swings open
to the joy that is. How simple, like tossing
candy in a parade, to share the key to the gate.
―Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, featured in her book All The Honey.
May you “join in her bliss” this 4th of July and all month long!
