The day morning, I was walking Scamp. We’d had rain the night before, but the morning was crisp and bright, about 50 degrees out. We’re strolling around a little neighborhood nearby, and Scamp is sniffing things more than usual. A rain like that really brings out the smells, doesn’t it? Even I’m grooving on it, the grass, the flowers.
Coming towards us is a mom with her two sons, probably about 8 and 10. She’s doing some sort of season averaging with her clothing. She has on this polar fleece pullover and a down vest and cropped leggings and flip flops. Winter + Summer = Spring, right? Meanwhile, I’m in LL Bean pants with a fleece lining, a jacket, a scarf and gloves, for God sake!
Anyhoo, because of all the rain there are a lot of worms on the road. I hear one little fella go, “Whoa, Mom, look at this one! It’s huge!”
“Yup,” she replies. “He’s a big one.”
“Can we take a picture of it?”
“I would, hon, but I didn’t bring my phone.”
“Darn!” And they continue past me.
Just as I’m about ready to turn the corner, I hear him again. “Whoa! This one’s even bigger!”
Ah, awe and wonder. In the business of every day, it’s so easy to lose track of that. It was nice to have that reminder.
Because you know, I’d seen those worms, but mostly I was trying to avoid stepping on ‘em.
Okay, so worms aren’t really my thing, but opportunities for awe and wonder are all around us. This morning on our walk, I saw something I’d never noticed before. Scamp had stopped to do his business by a fir tree, and it had all these pink bits of new growth or maybe baby cones on the end of the branches. That green and pink was so pretty.
On Saturday, I saw a bald eagle soaring by, with the morning sunlight bouncing off that white head: magnificent. Just
sitting here, I can look across at Finney’s yard. Their quince and azalea are in bloom: bright red and fuchsia against the green of their lawn. Why, every now and then, I happen to look over at Scamp and realize he’s just so gosh darn cute, and I’m beyond grateful to have him in my life.
‘Cause that’s the thing: awe and wonder just naturally lead to gratitude, don’t they? And that just makes you feel good.
When was the last time you experienced awe and wonder? Has it been awhile? My challenge to you this week is to slow down and look around you with fresh eyes. Find something that makes you stop and go, “Whoa!” I dare you!
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: Awe and Wonder