I do not know how to gift another with a sense of wonder. As someone who grew up driven by the left side of his brain, I am not sure precisely when it started. I suspect it began with my parents in their own unique ways.
The joy and wonder my mother found in food and life – from the incredible joy of the perfect Alphonso mango to the crazy fun in doing the unexpected with friends – she has an insatiable thirst to experience Life’s wonders.
With Dad, in his joy of seeing the result of human effort in a near perfect manifestation, he revealed his love in gifting others through hard work and service. In the range of reveling in the beauty of Danish design simplicity to the way paint could revealed the beauty of a car others had consigned to a wrecking yard, and on to a polaroid snapshot of everyone who ever visited the house, he revealed the heart restored by beauty and wonder.
Even though I have taken their loves and focus in ways they never imagined, the constant is a thirst to experience Life’s wonder and beauty. Life consistency brings living examples of wisdom and beauty to me, unconditionally. All around me, there are discoveries waiting to be experienced. Even as I bask in the wonders of a dusty soft dawn, I find myself holding onto reminders.
Divinity’s wonders are here, now. There are no preconditions. Even if nobody is willing to slow down, they will exist. There is an extraordinary process to it all – beauty and wonder offered to a human family who often do not seem to care. With loud noises and pure silence, examples come and go without any need for recompense.
Our greatest response is found in our embrace of Divinity’s gift. Each time I freely and unreservedly utter the words, “Hallelujah! O my soul, praise God!” (Psalm 146.1) I am changed. It is a loving embrace which wraps itself around the Divine heart within and without. With each breath we take, we have an opportunity. Carpe Diem!
