PEBBLE
I refuse to be embarrassed for my wonderment and joy. I love that I am someone who feels experiences with her whole soul. What a beautiful way to experience life.
~Emily Calandrelli, shared by Abbey in Rice Lake, WI [Abbey initially spotted the first part of this quote here and eventually learned it was from Emily’s Instagram post after she went to space with Blue Origin and was mocked for her tears of joy.]
BOULDER
Our sense of enchantment is not triggered only by grand things; the sublime is not hiding in distant landscapes. The awe-inspiring, the numinous, is all around us, all the time. It is transformed by our deliberate attention.
~Katherine May, shared by Brenna in Calgary, Alberta
PONDER
After years of daily meditation, tai chi, qigong, and nature walks, you’d think I’d be serenely floating through my days in a state of bliss—cherishing each moment and recognizing the holy wow in every person, place, and object I encounter. I’ve had a few profoundly moving moments for sure, and on most days I experience some degree of present-moment awareness where I can look around and recognize the sacred all around me.
But most of the time? I’m thinking about all the stuff I hope to accomplish in the next few hours (and days and weeks and months)…worrying about this and that, and anxious about other stuff, too.
And yet: in those moments when the veil of the daily grind lifts—even for a few breaths—life is transcendentally, captivatingly gorgeous. And I’m able to appreciate the intense awe and wonder I’m experiencing, not despite its brevity, but precisely because I know it’s only gonna last a wee bit before distractions and interruptions and challenges and changes cascade down like gravity, bringing me right back to my earthly existence.
That’s the way it seems to be for me, at least for now. When I can embrace the scarcity of these experiences as fiercely as I embrace the magic in them, it’s a lot easier to bring a smile to my face as I tend to all the Stuff that takes up the bulk of my days and weeks.
I’m okay with that. More than okay, even.
I hope you’re finding bits of enchantment in your days and weeks, and I hope you can savor them when they happen.