Chasing wonderment…
Excuse me? Wonderment? Are we referring to Santa Claus? Is someone handing me a (huge) winning lottery ticket? A Sasquatch is banging on my front door? What?
No, not Saint Nick, nor a large winning lottery ticket (sigh), or a lonely Sasquatch hoping for company. Oh, gosh, the big reveal should probably come through more poetic means than my own. Let’s go with Mary Oliver, the late poet:
“When it's over, I want to say:
all my life I was a bride married to amazement….”
“Married to amazement.” Such an inviting possibility for feeling truly alive. Wonder. Celebration. Take your pick. Could I really live in Amazement, USA? (And, you?) Sure! But how does one get tickets for this destination? That’s really the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Oh, wait, this is the digital age, is there a passcode?
The passcode? J-A-N.
I don’t understand. Even knowing the passcode, amazement is generally not an everyday occurrence in my life. The concept, though, sounds (pun intended) amazing. Realizing I’m actually the portal into “amazement,” where do I go from here?
Read you loud and clear. I decided to be a proactive amazement tracker and those portal explorations have begun. (Pats on the back are welcome here.) Thus far, this is what I’ve come up with. I am the way in (as are you.) It was helpful to explore synonyms for “amazement,” some of which I shared above. And celebration is the most appealing doorway to amazement for me. There’s a multitude of teeny and medium-sized things in my life I can CELEBRATE, with one, or all, of my five senses on an ongoing basis. In reality, I just internally celebrate (energize, increase) my felt experience of perceiving something (simple though it might be) and, pretty soon, I’m shaking my head in near-amazement. Really.
Okay, it’s clear a show-and-tell would come in very handy here. Right? BUT, first, I need to share the peppy brain hormones stimulated by experiencing amazement. (Is this a detour we absolutely need? You bet.) Are you aware of our brain’s happiness hormones? There’s our good buddy, dopamine, created when we feel satisfied, resulting in actually feeling happy and excited. Ah, yes, and that friendly hormone, oxytocin, which can leave us feeling warm and fuzzy. (I definitely like warm and fuzzy.) Two brain hormones worth getting to know.
Returning to my DIY (do it yourself) shortcuts to amazement. Pretty darn simple. Often, all it takes is just calling on one, or more, of my five senses to come out and play. For instance, the huge, twisted, pine tree I clearly see through my window. Incredible and hypnotic staring material. Actually looks like a Rodin sculpture. How great is it that I get to look at this tree every day and be amazed by its sculpted presence. Bit by bit, I amp up my reaction to the marvel of this tree and its twisted, but beautiful, form. And suddenly, I find a big ol’ smile on my face. Nice, very nice. Go dopamine and oxytocin!
One more. Looking at the bookcase in my living room and experiencing the deep contentment of recalling all the powerful and growth-worthy books that have lined its shelves over many years. Such felt gratitude. Oxytocin and dopamine are at it again!
Let’s be honest, not every instance of amping up one of our five senses will lead to amazement. But routinely practicing celebration (of-just-about-anything) in our daily lives opens the door to happiness hormones paying us more frequent visits. And these are visitors with whom I can happily live!
Smiling or moved after reading “This Being Human Thing? Then share this experience with someone you care about.
Pretty "amazing" piece today, Jan. i.e., plenty of dopamine and oxytocin generated here, at least, despite the rainfall and cloudiness. But, hey, even their beauty can be amazing when you look at/listen to/walk in them. Thanks!