“The art of being a warrior is to balance the wonder and the terror of being alive.” Fea
― Carlos Castaneda
To wake in wonder with sounds of nature all around. The sun rises painting the sky more colours than I thought possible. I look into the tent at my love sleeping and I am overwhelmed with joy. Then several months later I meet a three year old waiting to be adopted. His little hand in mine as he leads me to eat cookies with his stuffed tigger. Can I truly be this blessed? I wonder at the universe. Flowers and new born animals and puppies. Small kindnesses showed by strangers and people who I’d never expect it from. My spirit wakes in wonder every day.
Fear taps me on the shoulder. Fear that something could happen to my partner or our son or one of those I love. Am I adequate to the tasks that my life asks of me? What if I let someone down? What if I let myself down? What is that noise in the basement? How do I explain to an eight year old that his dog has passed? The whispers of fear make me shiver. I seldom listen but still that voice continues in its cold wet tones.
I can live with fear and wonder. They are both part of this life and my path. One leads me on and the other is my teacher and they both add to the fullness of life.
Blessings, G
“Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.”
— Alfred Whitehead
Philosophy begins when we look at ourselves and look at the universe and say something along the lines of “Wow, how did this all come to be? How did I come to be part of this?” “Who am I to ask these questions?” As long as we question and don’t become too attached to the answers we have at the moment being the correct one beyond all others, our sense of wonder remains. After all if the universe is indeed too big to understand all at once than any answer we find to explain it will be at best partial. Which means there will always be something new to discover, to explain further and deeper and to wonder and marvel at. Wonder comes when we find that there are places on our reality map that we have yet to explore. Wonder and courage in this sense go hand in hand. For it takes courage to admit that our current explanations are merely approximations and may in fact be mistaken. This quest for Truth may not be for the faint of heart but wow is it ever worthwhile. Blessings, G
“If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come”
— Arapaho saying
I don’t understand it and yet I wonder at it quite a bit. Why are so many people reluctant to wonder? At what point in our lives do we stop questioning and start to fight valiantly way beyond cognitive dissonance to hold on to our current belief systems. I love discovering I was wrong about something because it gives me something new to explore. If I truly believe that at best we can only gain a BETTER perspective on truth and not an ABSOLUTE perspective (at least not while in these physical bodies) than it stops becoming a matter of right or wrong but a matter of how right an answer can we find? How close to universal principles? It also means that at any given time there is something that we are mistaken about. I wonder what it can be? But then the imagi-nation has always been my favourite country
Blessings, G
Music Loomed Large For Him by G A Rosenberg 
