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The Path of Wonder, What if?, and The Spiritual Exercise of Wondering
Wednesday Pause
JoyOver
January 17, 2024
We’ve been exploring the soul work of wonder this month, and for as much as the word wonder is baked right into the word wonderful, the path of wonder doesn’t always lead to wonderful things, does it?
To wonder is to be curious.
To be curious is to recognize a desire for something more.
To lean into something more leads us to recognize we’ve reached the edge of what is and what we know, which then nudges us towards the borders of our comfort zones.
And to step outside of our comfort zones creates all kinds of discomfort as we’re exposed to all that is new, unknown and uncertain.
It takes courage to wonder:
I wonder what’s beyond the boundary of this social norm?
I wonder what I might learn if I questioned this framework?
I wonder if perhaps I’ve outgrown this way of life I’ve been living?
I wonder what God might reveal if I genuinely explored the deep work of wonder?
Like hiking a familiar and well-worn path, wonder begins when you stop at the trailhead, and instead of walking where you’ve always walked, you look around and consider “What if?”, and then head in a different direction.
Warning: it might not always be wonderful, but you can bet it’ll be wonder-filled.
—With Joy
Spiritual Director
Co-Founder & Content Director
[email protected]
Pause for Thought
“No man or woman begins to live a full life until they realize they live in the presence of something greater, outside and beyond themselves … Wonder is at the base of true living, and wonder leads to worship and after that the great other than self; it is yet kin to you, you are one with it.” [1]
Pause for Practice
Father Richard Rohr teaches that amazement, awe, and wonder are foundational spiritual exercises that nudge us toward the beauty and delight of our everyday lives. The following practice is a simple question, but is a spiritual exercise in wondering.
At various moments today (anytime; anywhere), use the everyday unfoldings of this average, holy, and ordinary Wednesday to ask the following question of wonder:
I wonder what The Holy might be inviting me into today?
“When awe and wonder are absent from our life, we build our religion on laws and rituals, trying to manufacture some moment of awe … I think people who live their lives open to awe and wonder have a much greater chance of meeting the Holy …” —Richard Rohr [2]
Pause for Prayer
Sometimes a prayer of wonder means consciously acknowledging that to pray for something like wonder means a willingness to give up one’s current state of comfort, complacency and sense of happiness. To be curious in prayer is to desire to know God more than your desire for control. Spend a few moments talking to God about wonder.
What might God be inviting you to pray about?
Pay attention to the thoughts and nudgings that occur. Anything and everything is an opportunity to converse with God about.
“I prayed for wonders instead of happiness, and You gave them to me.” —Abraham Joshua Heschel [3]
[1] The New Man in Christ by G.A. Studdert Kennedy (Hodder & Stoughton 1032), p. 132; The Lion Christian Meditation Collection by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild, True Living, 3.7, p.86.
[2] Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation, Willing to Be Amazed, From the Center for Action and Contemplation, December 2, 2023.
[3] The Ineffable Name of God by Abraham Joshua Heschel, via Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation, The Dignity of All Things, From the Center for Action and Contemplation. December 5, 2023.
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P.S. Life may not always be wonderful, but may you find your days wonder-filled in the same way this little girl easily “slides” into gratitude, perspective and appreciation 😏.