MZD - Ep 91 Cultivating Wonder

“If I had influence with the good fairy… I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.” ~ Rachel Carson (Nature writer and conservationist)

Happy New Year and Welcome to the Mountain!

Come on in to Mountain Zen Den, where we inspire you to connect with Nature for mindfulness and Personal Transformation, naturally!

The holidays are winding down and it’s time to get back to the routine and ruts of life as we know it.  Or is it?

One of my favorite things about starting a new year, (and in this case, a new decade), is the opportunity to look back, assess what worked and what didn’t, and then to look forward, ask what is it that I want, and then make new choices, plans and decisions to get there...a fresh start, so to speak; or maybe just a fine-tuning adjustment. 

Either way, a new year offers us another reason to be mindful.  And that’s a very good thing indeed.

Over the last several weeks we have been exploring the concept of Cultivating Your Garden of Well-being, beginning with Presence and Awareness, Hope and Faith, Love and Simplicity, Joy and Tranquility, and even cultivating a sense and appreciation of Beauty, and all that that means.

Today being the beginning of a new year, we are going to talk about developing and cultivating a sense of Wonder.

 

When was the last time you truly enjoyed a feeling of mystery, reverence and awe?

 

As a child, I remember Christmas in particular had this fascinating effect on me.  It wasn’t just the presents and the decorations and the lights…it was much more!  The magic of possibility – gravity defying reindeer-sleigh antics and chimney escapades, ghosts of Christmases past, present and future, snow gently falling on a silent night, truly making all calm and bright, and the Christmas story of a Divine Baby born in a manger, visited by shepherds and lambs and donkeys and angels, and wise men following a star.  Here was true mystery and wonder; God becoming a man?  How can this be?

And then I grew up.  In many ways science, technology and travel have made the world a much smaller place.  If there really is a Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster wouldn’t they have been discovered by now?  Declining biodiversity and shrinking habitats for our beloved wildlife have made it even smaller.

In his book “Feral – Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life”, author George Monbiot speaks of the human psychological need for the presence of large animals, and in particular, cats.  We’re talking mountain lions, tigers, jaguars and such.

One of the most exciting memories of awe and wonder I have of being in the wild is on a horseback ride where we startled a mountain lion at a drinking hole at dusk.

Another is encountering a large cinnamon-colored black bear while I was hiking alone in the woods, in the evening.

Yet another is of encountering a very large animal in the woods in the Rockies.  Melissa and I had recently bought a new camera, and I was excited to try it out.  We had just crossed a small stream when our horses suddenly stopped, lifted their heads high in the air, ears straight up, nostrils flared, and they wouldn’t budge.  Less than forty yards in front of us, a huge “dark horse” with very skinny legs and a funny looking nose, (otherwise known as a cow moose), crossed our path.  She totally ignored us and continued walking into the other side of the forest. 

Our horses, on the other hand, were totally unnerved and it took several minutes before they would move on.  I looked over at Melissa and she looked at me.  Both of us were holding our cameras, mouths wide open in awe and a bit of fear.  Neither of us had the presence of mind to snap the shot, so let’s just say this was the one that got away…

Each of these experiences are forever etched in my memory, where I can revisit them from time to time, knowing there is a much larger, and somewhat dangerous world out there just waiting to be explored and enjoyed as an adventure.

We don’t just experience awe and wonder, we enjoy it.

 

I liken it to a feeling of bliss.  You get lost in it.  It envelops your entire body like a blanket of goodness, and you can feel its warmth and chills spreading down and outward from your head and heart.

Why can’t this be a daily thing?

It can, if we purposefully show up in the right places at the right time.  This isn’t to say that there’s not a place for serendipity.  That is one of the greatest things about being awe-inspired.  You don’t usually see it coming.  But as we place ourselves in the Way of Nature, we naturally increase our chances of experiencing a sense of reverence, awe and amazement.

A flock of Canada geese overhead on a crisp autumn day, seems to do it for me every time.

The hoot of an owl in the nighttime forest, the lonely cry of a loon on a placid lake, the bugle of an elk echoing through the high Montane meadows of the mountains, and the song of the whippoorwill in the evening woodlands, all bring their own unique voices to the Song of the Earth.

The starry skies, galaxies, constellations, nebulae, sun, moon and even fireflies offer the deepest magic on an otherwise ordinary night. 

But most beautiful and mysterious of all is that still, small Voice that speaks to the deepest part of your soul when you need it the most - speaking light, love and wisdom into your heart.

All of these simple and profound gifts are wondrous beyond words.  The important thing is that we show up to experience them.  And this begins with presence and mindfulness. 

So if you’re ready let’s open our entire being to a sense of awe and wonder through today’s meditation.