The Wonder Of It All

I am an aficionado of sunsets. I love a good sunset like other people love a perfect glass of wine or an excellent meal. Sunsets take my breath away. They fill me with wonder. They put life in perspective for me. They remind me that we need to spend less time in our heads and more time in our hearts. They stop me in my tracks and pull my attention away from the things that don't matter to things that do. They cause me to think about all the other places where I have seen something that brings me the same sense of wonder and awe in the world. Where might that be?

I see wonder in sunrises as well as sunsets. I hear wonder in the sound of my great-grandson's laugh, or the feel of his arms around my neck in a hug. I see wonder when I look into the eyes of my fur babies when they show me what unconditional love looks like. I feel wonder at how clouds sailing overhead can look like angels or birds one minute, and Snoopy sleeping on top of his dog house the next minute! I feel wonder when the first touch of color teases the tips of the trees as the air starts to cool and pumpkins come out to play. I feel wonder when I see a total stranger being kind to another stranger, or when I hear the sounds of geese flying overhead, urging each other on.

Wonder is everywhere, every minute, if we just take the time to stop, look, and listen. Like last night. As I went to close my curtains at dusk before turning on the living room lights, I caught the magnificence of a sky filled with awesome shades of pink, purple, and gold. At that moment I didn't need to know the why or how of how that sunset got to be so beautiful. It was enough to be grateful for the gift itself and breathe in that feeling of wonder. Really, what else do we need?

And so it is.