It seems strange to think about needing to practice wonder. I’ve read that in some cultures there is a belief, or understanding that just being born as a human being is enough – this alone is a tremendous gift and miracle. No more striving is necessary. But we humans are strange creatures. It seems that we forget. Here are two short pieces of writing, one by Paul Hawken, and another by Norman Fischer that help me to remember:
“There are 100 trillion cells in your body. 90% are not human cells – they are microorganisms, bacteria, and fungi. Right now, inside your body, six septillion activities are going on simultaneously – a six with 24 zeroes. Can you feel it? It is happening this very moment to everyone here. You can feel it because it is the feeling of being alive. More things will have happened in your body in just one second of your life than there are stars and planets in the universe. Who is in charge? Luckily, no one. We cannot control this miracle.”
From Paul Hawken’s Commencement speech in Portland, 2009
“Mindfulness proposes that the more we try to fix or improve things, the more we get stuck in them. But that if we are willing to simply be aware, without entanglement, things will slowly come naturally to wise equilibrium. What we call meditation – sitting quietly without moving – is a particularly focused form of mindfulness. But mindfulness practice goes beyond conventional meditation. Once we have some training in mindfulness meditation, we can extend mindfulness to any other activity, until eventually mindfulness becomes a way of life. We become much more aware of what is going on, within and without. When we’re angry we know we’re angry, When afraid we know we’re afraid. With awareness of our state, we don’t react wildly compelled by unconscious impulses; instead we respond with much more accuracy and kindness. This movement from reactivity to response is the key shift that mindfulness practice aims for. But it comes about organically, with training, but without forcing anything. “