August: On Wonder and Awe

August 3

It’s in the dark shadows of the universe—the unknown worlds that revolve around the stars we see at night, the wonder that comes with watching a bagworm stick its head out of its cocoon and work its way down the branch of a cypress tree, or the moment of self discovery while walking alone on a quiet path in the park before the world wakes. It’s these places and times that questions arise—questions about anything, like what sort of life might have evolved all those lightyears away, and are they looking at our sun as their star, wondering the same? Why does the bagworm prefer pines to deciduous trees? And what am I really doing here, on this planet, in this moment? Who was I yesterday? Who am I today? Who will I be tomorrow?

There may or may not be answers to these questions. We don’t need answers to these questions. In fact, it’s okay to never know, and more than that—it’s good to never know.

As humans, we aren’t meant to know it all. But we are meant to wonder at the mystery of it all. That’s what we’re good at. That is our human superpower. 

• Reflection title: A Human Superpower
• Creative inspiration:  Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions
• Reflection question: What mystery have I found and embraced recently? Am I being too quick in looking for answers or taking a shortcut around the process?