We are the only beings that can marvel at the beauty of our world and at our own feeling of wonder. That must mean something.
I wonder if we might be missing the point in our push for self-improvement and personal gain. Let me explain with a brief story.
A Brief Story
There is a train car full of people passing along a scenic route. Outside the train, the view is spectacular. But inside, the picture is more prosaic. Passengers pay attention to each other rather than watching the scenery. Some fuss with their outfits, hair, and makeup while comparing their appearance to their neighbors and trying to post the perfect selfy to social media. Others sit with their heads down, fixed on screens where they watch the stock market reports and fret about how their fortune compares to those around them. A third group engages in a heated discussion over who is the most important and entitled to sit in the seat of honor.
The train steams into its destination, and the people on board have missed all of the scenery. They passed by wondrous sights on a once in their lives journey, and they never noticed. Now the ride is over, and they can’t go back.
You are Preoccupied
This level of preoccupation is how many people live their lives, questing after fame, beauty and prestige while life slides by. They are so wrapped up in getting ahead that they don’t notice life is leaving them behind.
Being focused on the big three (wealth, popularity, and power) is easy to do. Entire industries have grown to tell people how to be more productive, better looking, famous, influential, and wealthy. These gurus rarely suggest that there might be more to life than just money, popularity, and power. But what if those things aren’t the point of life. What if we need to pay less attention to ourselves and the other people on the train and spend more time looking out the window and appreciating the view.
We May be the only Creatures in Universe who can Appreciate it
As far as we know, humans are the only intelligent beings in the universe. That is an awful lot of real estate with only us to appreciate it. That fact makes me wonder if our unique job in the scheme of things is to enjoy the wonder that is all around us. It seems it would be a shame if there were no one to marvel at the majesty of tall mountains, the grace of leaping gazelles, and the glorious colors of sunset. The absence of conscious observers to appreciate those things would infinitely diminish them.
I wonder if our unique job in the scheme of things is to appreciate the wonder surrounding us.
Could Wonder be our Purpose?
People ask what our purpose in life is. Maybe it is to wonder at all the fantastic things in our world because if we don’t marvel at what is around us, no one else can. And if someone doesn’t do it, then it seems a real shame that all of this would exist but go unappreciated.
I’m not suggesting we drop our jobs to go live like hippies saying, “Wow Dude, that is awesome.” I am saying that at least a part of what we need to be doing with our lives is to put down the cellphone, drop the drive to get ahead, and take a little time to wonder at the amazing world that surrounds us and the incredible people who share it with us.
Make a Place for Wonder in Your Life
Try stepping outside at night and looking up at the stars. Take a walk in a park. Watch the leaves change color in the fall, and in the spring, take a moment to study the new buds that appear on the once lifeless tree limbs. Observe a sunset, visit the mountains, watch a video of an Olympic gymnast or do any one of a million things you could do to pause and wonder at the world around you. It may benefit the world to be appreciated, but it will definitely do you a world of good.
The benefit of wonder is awe.
When you pause to wonder at the world, you experience awe — the profound response to perceptually vast stimuli that transcends one’s everyday experience. That is no small thing. The field of research into awe is relatively new, but it appears that awe can make us happier, healthier, humbler, and feel more connected to other people.
It’s closer than you think.
Visiting the Grand Canyon is an easy way to inspire awe, but it isn’t necessary. Children live in a near-perpetual state of awe as everything is novel to them. As adults, we tend to pack that childlike fascination away and stick to staid routines that rob our lives of exciting new stimuli. But you don’t have to live like that. You can choose to put away your distractions at any time, pause, and appreciate what is around you. You can choose to become like a child without reverting to being a child, and when you do, you will often find something to appreciate that you had overlooked many times before.
Conclusion
Is it our purpose in life to appreciate and wonder at the amazing world where we live? I honestly have no way of knowing. What I do know is that the world would be diminished if there was no one here capable of recognizing its majesty. I also know that we will live smaller lives if we do not open ourselves to childlike wonder. But if we do make space for awe in our lives, we may be happier, healthier, humbler, and more connected — all good things to aspire to.
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