Do you realize just how delightful those two words are?! Translated into attitudes those words make life a truly marvelous adventure. And what do these words cost you? Absolutely nothing. Which only adds to their splend-ness. What does surprise and wonder ‘look’ like? All you need do is to look into the face of a small child at Christmas and you catch a sense of what I’m saying. However, you don’t have to be a child, if you are an ‘adult’ you can still experience the joy of surprise and wonder. (This is another one of those attitude opportunities.)
A few years ago the pat phrase was… ‘let your inner child out’. Much of the hoopla surrounding this phrase is just plain silly (in my estimation) but there’s still some truth to it. One does need to approach life expectant, child like (not childish) in order for surprise and wonder to be ‘seen’. It’s not casting off restraint as much as it’s letting creativity out. I think that what was being communicated, or at least the attempt was, to allow for another way of looking at life.
What am I meaning? I’m suggesting that we also embrace the attitudes of joy, of possibilities, a ‘stop and smell the roses’ mindset. Before even thinking, it can’t be done or it’s silly to even attempt this, listen to what this lifestyle is trying to convey. Perhaps the method can’t be employed but the idea, the concept can be. More of a ‘why not’ approach. This is a new or different way of ‘seeing’ but it offers tremendous rewards.
Surprise and wonder arrive in a variety of sizes and shapes at sundry times. It comes in the ordinary and the extraordinary. But my suggestion is to intentionally look for those things and people in our lives that embody surprise, because surprise and wonder can lead you to places you never thought you’d go. And… you’ll be the richer for it. When you approach others and ‘events’ with a measure of looking for something extraordinary, you may just find it.
…but, what do you believe?
