Wonder


Have you ever said, "I was just wondering. . ." as if wonder were somehow vague and ineffectual.

Consider this defintion:

wonder

n 1: the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising [syn: wonderment, admiration] 2: something that causes feelings of wonder; "the wonders of modern science" [syn: marvel] 3: a state in which you want to learn more about something [syn: curiosity] v 1: have a wish or desire to know something; "He wondered who had built this beautiful church" [syn: inquire, enquire] 2: place in doubt or express doubtful speculation; "I wonder whether this was the right thing to do"; "she wondered whether it would snow tonight" [syn: question] 3: be amazed at; "We marvelled at the child's linguistic abilities" [syn: marvel]


Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

Wonder is a feeling that takes us outside our normal model of the world: we wonder at things that are bigger or better or more beautiful than we imagined possible. Wonder pulls us across a limit. And as soon as we step across the line, we know both marvel and doubt. Anything that is beyond imagining invites the possibility that other things exist beyond what we know or expect.

What if you flip the experience? What if anything that creates doubt also creates the possibility of something wonderful?

Try saying, "I wonder what he was thinking." And then really allow yourself to wonder at the unexpected connections and larger-than-life conclusions that could be part of the answer.

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