Wonder: How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
I look at the skies . . . the sunrises and sunsets and mountain views around here always fill me with a sense of wonder. The views I catch after dropping the kids off at school is one of the favorite parts of my morning.
I look at this little girl . . . who constantly amazes me with her imagination, creativity, and interest in the world around her (especially if it has anything to do with horsies, puppies, or kitties). Here she is strumming away on the ukulele, singing a song that she made up for me. A 4 minute song, might I add.
Sometimes I just turn to her, or Payton, or Conner and study their faces, watch their reactions to things we are doing, seeing, hearing, reading . . . and for just a while try to glean a bit of wonder from their experiences. Last night we watched Elf as a family. And then laid out our blankets and pillows under the Christmas tree for a sparkly magical night of sleep. And I found myself doing this exact thing -- looking for the wonder & joy in their faces.
I try to cultivate gratitude . . . The prophet of our church, Thomas S. Monson, reminded us of the importance of gratitude. I've tried to notice & acknowledge more often the things & people that I am grateful for. In November we created a Thankful Jar that sat on the kitchen counter. All month we wrote down things that we were grateful for and added it to the jar. From the kids we got a lot of things like: hamburgers, flowers, candy, roller coasters. One of my gratitudes: a thoughtful husband (for making me some hot chocolate on an evening I was busy with projects).
To cultivate that sense of wonder, I think it takes some slowing down and focusing on things that matter. I like this quote:
"There is beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity . . . " (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)
I think that beauty and clarity equals wonder.
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in case you're wondering . . .
Reverb 10 is a series of prompts with the tagline “reflect on this year & manifest what’s next.” You can sign up to receive a free daily prompt via email. I thought that some of these might be great jumpstarts for storytelling & documenting this past year.
