Reverb10: Wonder

How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

That’s simple. Stop. Slow down. Take a moment, or several, to pause. To appreciate. To cultivate a habit of gratitude and observation, no matter how busy your day.

For me, wonder is closely associated with nature. It’s running through Cornwall Park in the middle of the afternoon, blood coursing through my veins, breathing in so deeply I can feel it all the way at the bottom of my lungs.

It’s the sound and smell of waves lapping on the beach; the startling cold of plunging into the early summer sea, the pungent salt almost visible in the air.

It is the crunching of crisp, russet autumn leaves under my shoes and the glorious pink of cherry blossoms bordering a quiet street.

It is the baby-soft skin on my boyfriend’s inner arm and the squeal of his – our – baby niece.

It’s walking home clutching a bag of fresh fruit on a scorching day, looking up to see nary a cloud in the cerulean sky, feeling full to bursting with the sheer energy of being alive, of having all your senses stimulated, of being able to appreciate the amazing, beautiful world which I am a part of.

And it’s also stepping back and assessing what I’ve done and where I’ve come from. It’s sitting around the table with my girlfriends from school, and realising that five years ago we were graduating high school, and today we’re a doctor, audiologist, accountant, osteopath, scientist, journalist.

Wonder is a wonderful thing. I want more of it.