Filling the Cup of Wonder

 

Hello!

During the last post, I talked about cultivating sense of wonder. 

Without wonder, we often find ourselves going about the day-to-day with a sense of rote, almost robotic-like rhythm. We don't really think about what we are doing. We just do it. Somewhere in the mix, we lose that childlike sense of wonder, hope and joy. We look forward to the weekends and then realize that they've passed before we've properly dipped our toes in their waters.

What if there was a way to have that awareness, that wonder every day?

I'm by no means an expert at this, but here are a few things that have helped me cultivate a sense of wonder.

1. Nature

Getting outside, going for a walk, or just spending time with green and living plants, breathing in their scents seems to help a lot. Better yet, if you can plant something yourself, water it and watch it grow, that seems to give you something to root for (no pun intended). Suddenly, you are very involved in watching this thing grow and when it blossoms, so does your heart.

2. Stargazing

There's nothing like going outside and staring up at the night sky to put things in perspective. When I do this, I always come away with realizing how small me and my problems are compared to the universe.  It's strangely comforting.

3. YouTube Videos

Okay. Bear with me. There's a word called "fernweh" and it basically translates to "a farsickness or longing for a unseen places." (Natural Habitat Adventures) I feel this way when I watch videos from these channels:

• Visual Melodies
  
• Tim Janis
  
• The Beauty of Middle Earth
  
• Brett Lenahan
• Somniare Sounds
  
• The Vault of Ambience
  
• Dreamy Ambience
  
• Inner Peace & Tranquility for Eternity

And these are just the ones that showed up in my immediate "Watch History". 

I particularly love the "travel" videos of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Austria and Switzerland. The streams, meadows, forests, mountains and coastlines fill my heart with wonder and that sense of fernweh. They are just beautiful, and I hope to one day visit those places.

4. Reading

It's no secret that I love to read. Lately, I've been filling up on some really good books that have piqued that sense of wonder leaving my heart overflowing with fernweh, hope and joy.

Here are few of those books:

• Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes
  
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
  
• Go Now by T.B. LaBerge
  
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
  
• Gentle and Lowly by Dane C. Ortlund
  
• What Is and Could Be by Katelyn Buxton
  
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

5. Prayer

I don't pray because I have it all together. Far from it. If you've subscribed to my blog for any length of time, you'll have seen that my life and faith are often a mess. I'm the least "all together" person you'll probably ever meet. But this is exactly why I pray. I pray because I desperately need God's help. I pray because my outlook on life is often bleak. I'm very prone to anxiety and depression, but when I lift my faltering voice to God, I'm filled with a sense of wonder. It's not an instant fix. It's a connection. A conversation with the God of the Universe. If that isn't wonderous, I don't know what is.

6. Watching Water Flow

There's no doubt in my mind that watching water flow, either in real life or online is one of the most soothing, wonderful experiences there is. So many of the YouTube videos I watch show waves crashing against cliffs, waterfalls, streams and brooks and many other sources of water. Where is the water going? Where is it coming from? Not all questions need answers. Sometimes it is just nice to wonder.

A question for YOU: What are some ways you fill up your cup with wonder?

Drop your answer in the comment section below. I'd love to read your answer!

Until next time...

- Julia Garcia / Arysta Henry