Reverb 10 - Wonder

Prompt: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

When I first read this prompt I immediately thought “Well, that’s a ridiculous question for somebody of a certain mature age. Looks like I’ve reached the end of my writing experiment.” Children are full of wonder, not adults. If you wonder, you don’t know .. and I’d like to think I know it all (ha!). My take-charge, analytical way of looking at life was showing. Clearly, wonder is not my strong suit. Besides, my mind said, these writing prompts are starting to feel like a test!

I let it stew most of the day and like all logic-driven people decided I’d do a little “wonder” research. Afterall, if I’m supposed to have cultivated a sense of wonder in my life, surely there’s a website about that, right? Mostly I found Reverb 10 postings, so I turned to the dictionary. I could take either of these definitions: to think or speculate curiously OR to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe.

Ok, so let’s go with curiosity and amazement. I’ve always liked to find out how things work (something I’m good at), why people act the way they do (something I’m notoriously bad at), and answers to the really big questions like “what’s the meaning of life”. Reading gives me a lens through which to look at some of these questions. I like books that challenge me to see the world through new eyes or that helps me understand people’s motivations.

One of the highlights of my month is my reading group. We’ve been together for six years now and I love it best when parts of the group have differing ideas from my own. Somehow others can see positive where I only see negative, or vice versa. They bring up themes that went right over my head. I love the give and take as we wrestle with the ideas and life-views in the books. Maybe we don't wrestle with them, maybe we wonder about them? Combine that with great friends, wine, and snacks and you’ve got a perfect evening.

Maybe my problem with this prompt is that wonder is too passive for me. Maybe instead of Wonder, I prefer to Wrestle.