I came across this passage in the book I'm reading...
When researchers studied awe and beauty, they found an interesting connection: when we experience awe, we move toward others in beneficial ways.
When we are overcome by the grandeur of a snowy mountain peak or delighted by a beautiful song, when we sit silently in an old church and marvel at the way the sunlight seeps through the stained-glass windows, or when we're delighted by our children's squeals as they run through the sprinkler in the backyard, we let go of our "it's all about me" fixation ... less entitled.
Get Out of Your Head, by Jennie Allen, page 128
I immediately thought of both you and Renee. I learn best by contrast - comparing two points of view or examples. So it's not a matter of comparing one person or the other. It's using the differences to understand.
I first thought of dinner at Kermit's Ok Kitchen in Tupelo Mississippi. Or more accurately, dinner at the bank next door because they had the wrong night for a catering engagement. And then the story about the band you sat next to on a flight who gave you concert tickets. And the questions you ask - whales into the ocean, humans out; archaeology; black holes; the universe. You have sense of wonder. Not just for the stuff in the universe but also for the people around you. It's contagious.
On the other hand, I remember one night when I was married to Renee. She had a year left in school. We lived just off campus. It was summer. Classes were out and the campus was pretty deserted. We were walking. I convinced her to sit down for a few minutes. The sun was setting, but still plenty of light. The bugs were chirping. The sky had interesting colors. I asked her to just sit and listen. I like to close my eyes in those moments and hear the sounds, like a blanket. Calm, relaxing. Renee lasted about 2 minutes. I think that was the last time I tried to share a sense of wonder.
That's what I see in the passage above. Renee shows entitlement. You show generosity. I believe that both of these things - wonder and generosity - are symbiotic. They grow and feed off each other. My brain loves cause and effect. Which one comes first? It doesn't matter. Do both. And both get easier.
We talked on Friday about whales going into the ocean and humans leaving it. What I see is the signature of an artist. Combining common elements from His other work while adding something new, unique, and special. For example, you can tell code that I wrote. It has a style, including format, wording, etc.. Your paintings have a style. And yet each is unique. Each script I write is different. Like every other creative work in the world, we put a bit of ourselves into it. We reuse what we learned, what worked, and then add that something new making it special. It doesn't seem odd to me at all that whales and humans share some body structures. It seems wonderful.
Don't ever surrender that sense of wonder.
