The Wonder Of It All

The world of today is a world of gadgets. Each of them was probably developed to make our lives better, easier, simpler and/or more organized. From cell phones… can anyone remember a dial telephone?; to computers… can anyone remember a typewriter?; to 700plus channels on the TV… can anyone remember when there was only 3?; to microwavable frozen dinners… can anyone remember cooking from scratch?; to the internet… can anyone remember going to the library to use their encyclopedias? And the list goes on.

While they have made our life better, easier, simpler and more organized they have also robbed it of wonder and awe. Case in point, when was the last time you sat in the early evening hours on your front porch or in your backyard with a cold glass of ice tea listening to the radio playing soft music through the open windows of your home and looked up at the illuminated star filled sky and was awed by the wonder of it all?

An old farmer was visiting a friend in the large, crowded, bustling, noisy city of New York. All of sudden the old farmer stopped and said, “Did you hear that?” “Here what?” asked his friend. “The cricket,” the farmer stated. “The cricket?” exclaimed his friend. “How in heavens name can you hear a cricket with all the shouting, honking and talking going on?” The old farmer didn’t reply, but simply kept listening until he had located the small cricket nestled in a crack between the sidewalk and a building.

Our ears hear what we have trained them to hear. Our eyes see what we have taught them to see. Our spirits perceive what we have shaped them to perceive. And, the wonder and awe of God’s creation often is missed in the act of living out our better, easier, simpler and organized lives.

Quote for today: “For is not wonder the first, unconscious meeting with mystery? Does not wonder give birth to the first prayer? Does not the power to contemplate involve first the power to be awed?” Carlo Carretto