There comes a moment while in our journey through existence that I'm sure we've all experienced. It may happen when we are caught by the vast canvas of a sunset, or when we encounter a new creature for the very first time, or even when we sit staring out of a closed window at a torrential downpour. It occurs alongside an overwhelming peace, and a silencing of consciousness. It is the embodiment of reverence. Socrates said that this phenomenon is "the beginning of wisdom."
Humans have a deep connection to the experience of wonder. Often, we are overcome by it. We find ourselves without words to describe an experience because the wonder of it is indescribable. There is a line from F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby, that reads, "For a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder." In this masterpiece of a sentence, Fitzgerald passes through so many aspects of our human experience. By some stroke of genius, he has captured the immense optimism that comes with our capability to understand incredible things while at the same time expressing the defeat of realizing that humanity never lives up to its potential. Fitzgerald almost pleads with us to take a moment to stand in wonder at the complexity and the beauty of the world around us.
Neil Armstrong said, "Mystery creates wonder, and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand." As far as we know, humankind is unique. Us, and our closely-related but extinct cousins, are some of the few species that have had the capacity to learn about and modify their world. That is incredible. For better or for worse, humanity has purposefully done more to shape the history of the earth than any other species. When humanity lives up to its capacity for wonder, we are able to achieve incredible things.
Wonder is more than a spark that ignites the fires of learning, though. Wonder is a separate experience. It is the ethereal experience I mentioned earlier. It is the moment between the act of observation and the desire for understanding. Not only does wonder push us towards greater knowledge, it leads us to passion. Without the emotion of wonder, we lose all sense of purpose behind our learning. Each of us will experience wonder at some point in our lives. It would be wise to recognize and remember those moments. From those moments, we can find our true peace and purpose.
The more we wonder, the more we will learn. The more we wonder, the more our perception will expand. The more we wonder, the greater we will become.
Thanks for reading.
"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced." Soren Kierkegaard
The cover photo was created by Rabbit Ran ( https://www.artstation.com/floatingworld)