“Every instant is an act of creation.” --Matthew Fox, philosopher and theologian “Mankind will not perish for want of information, but only for want of appreciation, [want of wonder]. --Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish theologian
How can we regain our wonder, our zest for life?
According to these scholars, the human race will perish if we continue to think as modern, industrial thinkers, that is, as people who work at getting as much as possible out of the planet and others for their own benefit.
Matthew Fox continues to say that “life without wonder is not worth living.” This zest for life, this wonder, is the manifestation of the Spirit in our lives. We have to rekindle the sacredness of life—all life, every nook and cranny, otherwise we will drown in our intelligence and information will surround us with confusion. How do we regain our wonder?
We go to Nature!
Just like the birthing of the star in the picture above, creation is always happening. Even in ourselves. In my body, which was wracked with cancer of the blood, is constantly, especially after the stem-cell transplant, making new blood cells so that my life can continue. So, too, is the universe constantly growing/birthing new stars.
What makes that happen? The Spirit of our Creator, the Spirit of love, and the deep desire of the universe to continue to live. And the universe will continue to live even after we tempt that creation with our killing desires, our desires to separate ourselves from others, and our desires to conquer and fight for land or resources because we fear not having enough to make ourselves happy.
We must become as little children, always impressed with the small, new things
we experience… the flowers, the birds, the growing of our hair, the kindness of our neighbor (especially when we are in trouble), the morning dew, the beauty of the rain, even our desire (like young school children) to learn as much as possible about ourselves and our world.
It is our duty, Fox says, for us elders to make sure that wonder never dies. That is my goal now as I spend more time with my grandchildren and show them how wonderful life is, how wonderful their lives are.
I bow to that Divinity within you.
Comments