Wonder: A Fountain of Youth For The Mind
My kids love to ask fabulous questions. Daily, I’m enlisted to field queries in a range of subjects from physics to technology and religion to science, and my children are only five and seven! Their first enquiries were quite simple, so their “all-knowing” mother had a quick response to nearly every one. But as my inquisitive children have grown, my ego has shrunk, and been swallowed and digested on repeat, as I’m forced to respond: “well kids, I just don’t know…let’s ask Google.” And though inventions like Google may be one of the culprits in my ever-decreasing knowledge bank, as all this touch-ready information discourages our brains from retaining information (like my husband’s phone number—the same one he’s had for the last nine years), our immediate access to information can open great windows to the mind.
Last year, on our relaxing sunny family holiday, my little girl asked me, “Mum, I wonder, how far away is the sun and the moon?” We were basking lazily on beach towels near the sea, and I gave her the best guess I could muster. Later that night, however, as the moon stared down at me, my daughter’s question beckoned, and I went online. I’ve never had a scientific brain, nor do I typically spend more than a few minutes scouting for the answer to any question, yet there on holiday, with an abundance of free time and a relaxed constitution, I quickly got absorbed in my research. Like a ravenous explorer, I spent several hours consumed in the study of light years and astronomical units, carefully mapping out the distance between earth and its celestial neighbours in order to some way wrap my mortal brain around it. I wish I could share my now forgotten findings, but know this…I was struck. I stepped outside underneath that blanket of sky and the awe of it all, the magic of this beautiful earth, that houses my small being, amongst a million other beings, on a great expanse of land, beside a bounty of water, floating in a sea of sky, of stars, and suns and moons, all existing in harmony, made me spin in wonder. And I thanked my kids for reminding me that all this is Wonderful.
I believe children are here to help us rekindle our wonder—our sheer awe and curiosity. Through their eyes, we can experience once again the magic and excitement of our first taste of lightening and rainbows, of sunsets and falling snow. In our adult drive to fluff our feathers and prove our abilities, we forget what happiness can lie in humility. In a state of wonder, there is little room for ego, for right and wrong, and rules and restrictions; we are given permission to be still and open, to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of thought. This is fertile ground for growth. And the benefits of growth shouldn’t be solely restricted to the young. Though our adult bodies have reached their physical maturity, our hearts and minds, like those of children, still have room to flourish. Engaging in curiosity and awe for the world around us can open the door to possibility and a pathway to imagination. It can bring forth answers to life’s most inspiring questions and can deliver us from complacency. The sheer joy of wonder is a fountain of youth for the mind.
Curious if anyone else had come to similar conclusions, I, once again, went online and stumbled upon something called the “Science of Awe”. Scientists and psychologists have recently begun to study the unique emotion of awe and the body’s physiological responses to it, and the benefits of awe are astounding. Not only can it grant us more happiness and better health, but it can inspire a higher drive towards communal sharing and caring, and help align us more peacefully within the present moment. Perhaps increasing our exposure to life’s vast and mysterious offerings will benefit us more than we ever thought. I still can’t remember exactly how far away the moon is, or how many light years it would take to find the sun, yet I can tell you the magnitude of such a thought, is alone, enough to pause my mind. Opportunities for awe are abounding. We don’t need to wait for thunderstorms or fireworks. If we simply step outside and be still, the sun, trees, and passing clouds, will whisper to us their secrets. The longer we can rest there in open wonder, the more potent the elixir.