That life is a fragile shell on the beach I have
thought of before. This Christmas I am thinking
big basic wonders as if I were just born. —Naomi Shihab Nye…
The big basic wonders about our origin, and that of the stars, must still occur to us all, even though we’re grown up and knowledgeable about astronomy and human reproduction.
The germination of a seed is still much more wonderful, in a strict sense, than the mere electronic marvel of a calculator that makes twelve thousand computations in a second.
Do we ever let ourselves simply wonder? Do we still open ourselves to the awe that filled us once, when we first realized the vast intricacies of the solar system or of human physiology?
Every great ritual surrounds a story that is wonderful: the presence of a god; the deliverance of a people; the transformation of life or
death. It’s appropriate that we should respond to them with a thrill of wonder. Wonder is a gift; it contains the germs of reverence and of knowledge. Life is frail and intricate, and it contains every-
thing I need for fulfillment.