Wonderful, magical and more

Julia ♦ September 8, 2023 ♦ Leave a comment

The sunlight sparkles on the water off Cozumel, Mexico, January 2015

“This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it.” — Thomas Carlyle

One of the surest ways to defeat despair is to stop and experience something totally amazing. A star-studded sky at night or a sparkling sunlit ocean are obvious choices, but there are hundreds more within easy reach.

There’s just one catch. You have to contribute two things that are increasingly scarce: time, and attention. You need not invest much of either for a quick attitude adjustment, but you have to shut everything else out and really be there for the show. It will be worth it.

In case you are short on ideas of what to choose, here are a few possibilities. You can look very closely at a handmade gift that you treasure, and wonder at the talent and love that created it. Listen to a stirring symphony or an inspiring vocalist, and notice what emotions come to the surface.

If you are out and about, step into a bakery or coffee shop and scent-surf. Listen to the birds, or the sound of vehicles driving by, or the voices of people communicating with each other.

Watch a toddler explore. Enjoy the antics of a squirrel or a puppy. Find a place to sit still outdoors and watch the wind, faint or strong, making itself seen by the way it touches everything else.

Write a note to someone you care about, and tell them why they are wonderful.

Look at your hands or feet, and think of all the ways they make your life possible every day. Throw the circuit breaker on your electrical panel, and go without electricity for awhile so you will know what an incredible gift it is. Don’t want to do that? Me neither.

Thomas Carlyle didn’t have half of the things that we think of as necessities, but he did have the eyes to see wonder, and the heart to appreciate it. Isn’t that all any of us really needs?

This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.