Curiosity and Wonder.

Those are the first two things we lose as we move into adulthood.  Fear, shame, embarrassment, basically a little too much self-awareness tends to creep in and edge them out.  (Matter of fact, I’m a little hesitant writing this now because I wonder if whatever I’m about to say (I should know by the end of the next sentence?) will be ‘witty’ or ‘profound’ or whatever-it’s-supposed-to-be enough to warrant your or my time here.  Oh well, here goes.)   But the reality is those two things - curiosity, and wonder - are really the core of any fulfilled existence.  Why am I waxing poetic about this today?

Because even when I’m traveling, and surrounded by the most beautiful things and opportunities and fresh new moments, I have to remind myself to cultivate those two feelings Every. Single. Day.  It’s a matter of activating them, like muscles.  And that’s because, as humans, our baseline for what is normal/good/bad - you name it - is so incredibly adaptable (props, evolution) that when we add a good thing (beautiful beach), or take away a bad one (work stress), it really doesn’t take long for our systems to adjust and treat that as the new normal.  Hence, the added/subtracted life circumstance is no longer good/bad/exciting/whatever it initially was, and you’re off in search of another thing/change/addition/subtraction to create that new hit of joy, purpose, etc.  And so it goes.  

But remembering curiosity and wonder - which, to me, are like the prerequisites for gratitude (and we’ve allll heard about how we’re supposed to have that one…the question is just how) - really helps me to stay in a steady stream of appreciation for all that each day has to offer.  To notice the sun reflecting on the water.  How my kid’s peanut butter covered-face isn’t just destroying all the furniture in sight, but is also plastered with a smile that - if I let it - is primed to create the sweetest peanut-butter-filled memory.  Right there, in that moment.  And just reminding myself that, even if I’ve crossed the same street a dozen times that day, it’s constantly in motion and there’s always something a little different on the other side - if I rememer to look for it.