Illustration by Ella Frances Sanders,
(the illustration is from another one of her books: The Illustrated Book of Sayings
Wonder is at the origin of acts of creativity, both historical and mundane, from big breakthroughs in science to the everyday discoveries that lead to works of art, music, writing, and
laughter.
The Care and Feeding of Wonder:
Three Ways to Keep Wonder Alive
1. Ask Questions Without Needing an Immediate
Answer
Questions are brokers of wonder. The brain can't resist
answering questions, but often the questions we feed it lead to creative constipation. Questions like, "How come I can't come up with a good idea?" or "Why don't I get more likes on my posts." Our brain works on those but the answers are not as wonder-prone as:
- "What if I painted the teapot upside-down?"
- "What music does the color turquoise play?"
- "What if my character met a parrot for a beer everyday?"
- "What if I projected myself into the future and looked back? How would I have solved my latest problem?"
- 'What if I'm the only one in existence and everyone else is just an illusion?"
- "What would be fun to wonder about today?"
2. Take a quote about wonder and
personalize it. Here are two examples:
The world is full of magic things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. ~ William Butler Yeats
The world is full of magic things patiently waiting for my senses to grow sharper: The way the sun is split into an accordion of light as it comes through the blinds of my window. The way petting a cat makes it rumble with the healing blessing of a purr."
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” ~ E.B. White
I am always on the lookout for the presence of wonder. It doesn't have my phone number, yet it calls me when a star shoots through the heavens, when my dreams entertain me at night, and when a loon impersonates a moody clarinet."
3. Hang around Children
Go out, go out I beg of you
And taste the beauty of the wild.
Behold the miracle of the earth
With all the wonder of a child.
~ Unknown
What brought you wonder when you were a child? What made your eyes flash? Can you crack the door back open to that wonder again? What's one thing you can wonder about the sky right now?
 ~ Wishing you wonder,Jill Badonsky
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