Wonder and Awe

I have been thinking about wonder and awe ever since boarding a plane in Washington DC a week ago. Okay, I have been FEELING wonder and awe. I love to fly, getting above the treetops, and then above the clouds. Seeing how the land is divided up, how geography changes so rapidly when on a jet. And then landing in a different world (Las Vegas!) and seeing old friends who live so far away. How is this possible?

It is no surprise that Janneke and Juliet and I have had a great time touring the national parks of Utah together. Science has proven that being in touch with your sense of wonder leads to getting along well with other people. You don't have to travel to some distant natural wonder to feel this. Pay attention to an ant's ability to carry a heavy load on your own front sidewalk and you can be transported to that sense of awe. But that takes some discipline, to notice things of wonder in everyday life. As a Catholic, I was confirmed at age 14, and the Bishop spoke at length to us teenagers about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but particularly about taking care to nurture our natural childlike sense of wonder and awe into our adulthood. That was 40 years ago. I admit that I am not a good Catholic, but that particular teaching had a great impact on me. It led me to being a lifelong learner, open with meeting new people, learning their points of view, loving travel even when it is tedious or difficult.

Janneke will be posting photos of the scenery, and as beautiful as the photos are, they cannot capture our awe at the eons it took for these geographic features to develop, and the immense areas of stark beauty. You may appreciate it as art, but when we look at them in the future we will be transported back to the feeling of wonder and awe when we were here together.

Lisa Donohoe