December 4: How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
It may seem hokey but I try to cultivate a sense of wonder in my life and the people’s lives around me every day. It’s what this blog is about. On the surface it may seem sweet and full of saccharinity to the Nth degree but when you seriously look at the world, our lives are tough. Most of us spend our time battling with problems and hearing about the far greater problems of those in need around the world. Life in its everyday normalcy is a freakin hard mess yet despite all that, finding a sense of wonder in the everyday is sometimes the only thing that may keep us going.
The simple things in life that can bring you out of your world of problems for a moment and give you that little stroke of happiness are why we live our lives. Simple things like late night giggles, stringing fairy lights across the mantel, baking double chocolate chip cookies and reading magazines and inspirational blogs are the pick me ups that create wonder in our everyday lives.
We all do these simple things to feel the joy for moments in our otherwise difficult days. I could tell you that 2010 has been pretty rough for me but rather than bore you with that, I will say that my sense of wonder is packed to the brim with Christmas sparkles and the smell of cinnamon. Christmas will not live up to my usual high expectations this year and I’m OK with that because despite it all, I’m still creating that world that has been mine every December for the past 34 years -the same December that my mother created for us as kids.
Creating a sense of wonder in my life and the lives of my loved ones is my whole aim in this world. I don’t care if that seems corny and overly sentimental. It’s who I am and I’ll likely never change.
*Check out Reverb 10 to find out why I wrote this*
