Wonder—it’s all around you

Catching Wonder © Kathryn LeRoy

Happy New Year!

After the first downward dog and before peaceful warrior, I heard an excited voice call out about something spectacular that I just had to see and photograph. There was a time in life when I might have dismissed the invitation, but not on this day.

How often will I see the full spectrum of the delicate artwork spun without a pattern by a spider no bigger than the tip of my thumb? I stopped my yoga to take in the splendor, and yes, the wonder of nature.

I didn’t always take advantage of these precious moments as I focused on work, cleaning, or other equally mundane tasks. They seemed so important and all-consuming at the time, but were they?

What did I miss along the way? I cannot retrieve that moment with a friend, a child’s sticky embrace, or other sights full of wonder that passed without a glance—lost forever.

I’m not one for hanging around regrets, but if I could, I would tell, no firmly implore with my 20, 30, or 40 something self to stop. Look up, look down, look all around. Explore every moment with more appreciation of the marvelous right in from of me.

Not to say I never did, but as time passes, you begin to see with more intention what stands in front of you. So now, I say yes to adventure. I don’t hesitate to learn video games despite my lack of coordination to manage the controls.

I say yes to any interruption to enjoy the now. I eagerly stare at spider webs and sunsets, gaze in the eyes of a child, a friend, or the one who called out to see the wonder on display in the garden.

I invite you to stop, to notice, to wonder.

I wrote about choosing a word for 2022—wonder.

Ozan Varol captures in a few words the difference between a life lived carefully and being alive.

Louie Armstrong’s reminds me of all the wonder, free for the noticing—it is a wonderful world.

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
—John Muir

A New Perspective

Be and become your best today and every day.

With gratitude,

Kathryn

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