Two weeks ago, my friend Nate and my brother Justin piled into a car and headed to Portland, Oregon. Over the next fifteen days, we spent countless hours in the car, saw monument after monument, jumped out of a plane and off a bridge and clocked over 7,000 miles on the odometer of my car.
While we knew that driving was the “scenic” route, I don’t think any of us expected to actually see some of the scenes we saw. Glacial lakes, snow-covered mountains threatening to avalanche, live forest fires, and this massive hole in the ground were just the start.
The first few times we drove by some ridiculous scenery, we would just yell “WOW” or “LOOK AT THAT” and stare. After a few times of this, we stopped saying anything and every time we came over a hill or to a great viewpoint, our jaws just dropped as we stared in wonder at the absolute beauty of what we were looking at. After a while, someone would break the silence with, “C’mon Nature!” and we kept staring out the car windows in awe.
As I’m writing this, I’m looking at our reactions and realizing that they’re seemingly childish – something that a five-year-old would say…but I’m totally okay with that. As a child, everything is new and everything is amazing. Somehow as we grow up, things change. You get into routines and what used to be extraordinary becomes mundane. We get used to the wondrous. Instead of walking around the blades of grass in the backyard barefoot with a magnifying glass frying examining an ant with wide-eyed wonder, we walk right past it without even noticing because the yard has to be mowed.
Actively cultivating that sense of wonder is incredibly powerful because you begin to see things that are seemingly impossible, yet they exist. But, because things become mundane over time, you have to step outside your normal routine and consciously choose to consciously stand back in awe of something. You have to notice things before you can stare in wonder at them.
But when you do, it’s awesome.
When you realize how big the world is, you realize how small of a world you’ve made for yourself. When you learn to wonder, you begin to realize how few things in the world really are impossible.
>>A massively beautiful hole in the ground cut by one river over millions of years? Impossible. Yet there’s the Grand Canyon
>>Stunning snow-covered peaks rising up thousands of feet into the air, .5 inch per year at a time for millions of years? Impossible. But we still have the Grand Tetons.
>>One massive ice cube leveling fields, moving boulders and changing terrains moving at a sloths pace. Impossible, it sounds like something out of a bad doomsday movie, but Glacier National Park is still a thing of beauty.
When you realize the magnitude of things that are, the things that aren’t seem bite-sized.
When you see these types of things, losing ten pounds doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Running a marathon doesn’t seem so daunting. Maybe, even running an ironman isn’t?
After all, if some of these impossibly beautiful things exist in nature, why can’t other impossible things exist?
How To Cultivate Wonder
So how do you go about cultivating wonder if you’re stuck in routine?
Go Somewhere
Get out of your normal routine. Go somewhere different. Maybe you can’t go across the country, but you can probably go across your town, city, county or state. Even if you’re in Kansas and amazed at it’s flatness, stand back and be amazed at just how flat one place can be.
Go Slow
Nate is walking across america. When we were driving and he would see a beautiful site, he’d just raise his arms and yell, “AMERICA!”. He says he does this quite often on his walk. I think he’s nuts. But, he might just have a a point. Nate’s goes slow (about 2.5mph) and covers between 15-20 miles a day. It’s going to take him much longer to get across America than it took us (he left Delaware in March, he’ll get to San Francisco in October), but when he’s done he’ll have seen much more of the US than most people and his sense of wonder will be through the roof.
Just Go
It’s really hard to cultivate wonder in front of your TV, computer, or some other similarly pixel-driven technology. Go. Get out of the house. Get out of your normal routine and just take an hour or two to sit in wonder at something. Maybe it’s the rocky mountains. Maybe it’s something in your backyard. But go. Pick something and decide to wonder at the impossibility of it’s existence. Be amazed. Then go do something impossible. Other people need something to wonder at too.
Great post Joel. I was just thinking about something similar the other day while sitting outside on a bench towards dusk. The sky, cascaded by trees swaying in thre breeze, was just turning fuchsia when a jogger came by. What startled me was that in paying attention, I could feel the tremor of every step he took.
Wonder is a wonderful feel to have and I try to cultivate it when I’m attentive enough. Even something meager like a coffee mug has such a distinctive color, shine, smell, sound, and feel that it’s worth exploring.
It’s crazy when you have those moments huh? You want to take a photo, but you know there’s no way a picture can capture the moment.
Absolutely, I was thinking the same thing. Even if I had my camera with me there’s no way I could do it justice.
To have the sense of awareness of a 5-year old is amazing. To view things with innocent eyes and a mind that doesn’t judge is a precious thing. That drive to the skydiving place was amazing. I was in awe at the view from the plane and too amazed at Mt. St. Helens to notice I was about to jump out of that plane.
Sometimes we just have to slow down and take it all in. Great post Joel!
The view as we free fell was amazing too. An eerie-type calm as we spun around and looked at all the mountain peaks in a 360 degree view. Amazing.
Great post Joel!
I just have one comment. Kansas is not flat. If you ever go to Mahatten, Kansas, you can go a couple miles out of town and see some MONSTER hills. You wanna see flat, come to Illinois.
Okay, interstate 70 is FLAT :). And trust me, I know all about Illinois 🙂
it doesn’t matter where we go, as long as we go and we do it slow.
i like the idea of cultivating wonder. im not sure many people consider that. it as though we see wonder as too much work and perhaps at odds with the simple life. it breeds boredom when you dont have wonder.
It’s like wonder “gets in the way” of real work. Oddly enough, I find that’s where I’m often the most inspired.
Joel,
“Start wondering” is the new action item 🙂 I need to do that. I think I do better than most but still not even close to what you are talking about. Digital age has ruined us in that sense. I still love it though 🙂
I am traveling to DC shortly, first time. I will implement your advice.
@Wesley: That’s a surprise!!! I will need to explore the hilly side of KS :)) I am in Olathe.
Good luck on your trip to DC. If you’re driving through West Virginia, it’s absolutely beautiful there.
Joel, I love this. It has everything to do with what I’ve been going over and over in my head lately.
My heart breaks every time I see something no one else sees, when we’re all standing in the same place. Lately, I’ve felt called to change that, even more so after WDS (the bungee jump didn’t hurt either, as an adventure and a metaphor). I’ll be free falling for some time, I think. (Taking in the gorgeous view all the way to the end.)
Kids really do it best, and I love that you embrace the idea of being one. When I was put in charge of a Kindergarten class in my past life, I was totally smitten by their constant curiosity and exclamations at life. I was reminded me of that and giggled at the idea of you yelling “C’mon, Nature !” and Nate screaming “America !”.
I just go, “What !” I don’t even have words. Beauty does that to you.
We need a good word to yell out whenever you’re actually speechless. Start brainstorming. Go. =)
This is a stop-you-in-your-tracks (no pun intended) post Joel! Gosh, I just took a vacation with you – thanks! You got it right sir … cultivating wonder is a beauuutiful thing!
Thanks Elena 🙂 Look for something else similar soon. 🙂
Yes. Yes, yes, yes! I wrote about something similar last November. I got the same kind of feeling driving through Ohio, which is much prettier than I expected. I think if more people held onto the wonder and the joy, the world would be a much better (and happier) place.
I always felt like Ohio was just a stretched out version of Indiana. But, according to Nate, they’re both amazingly beautiful….crazy
Well, I haven’t been to Indiana yet, except one night time drive through the northern part years ago. Good to know! I want to explore the states around here a lot more, including the rest of Illinois.
So much to see!
America!
!!!
Being “childlike” sometimes gets an undeservedly bad reputation, doesn’t it? I mean, not that everything about children is praiseworthy, but we sometimes forget that they have things to teach us.
I’m trying not to lose my childlike wonder. It’s easiest to keep it when I’m traveling, harder when I’m in my home city and seeing the same familiar things every day. To combat that, sometimes I try to act more like a tourist at home – bringing a camera with me, taking pictures, wandering around and admiring the scenery and the people, and making sure I’ve been to the landmark sites around here that it’s easy to never get around to seeing.
Photography somehow makes the boring seem interesting. You have to pay attention and look closely to see the stories and events going on in what would otherwise be just a normal day.
This was really inspiring. Thanks Joel!
🙂
Joel,
Good post! Reminds me of a story I read about a woman who had been blind most of her life but, in her 50s, she had surgery that restored most of her sight. At that point everything amazed her, including what we would normally think of as routine stuff. She was even fascinated by the color, shapes, and sizes of soap bubbles when washing dishes.
I don’t think I would yell “America!” while washing dishes . . . but it’s a similar concept 🙂
Kurt
p.s. Am trying out gravatar photos . . .
Looks like you’re getting the hang of it Kurt!
I think I need to cultivate some wonder in my life. 🙂 Weekend trips give me that burst of wonder. Sometimes just getting away for a few days, leaving what you are used to and going somewhere new can fire up that curiosity. You have inspired me to take a small trip. I have a big trip coming up next year so I am trying to save the pennies but maybe a camping trip needs to be in the works. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have a newfound obsession with camping. Where do you think you’re going to go?
Well I am in beautiful San Diego so the options are endless. I like to head up north to maybe Santa Barbara. We did a mini trip to Salton Sea… Pretty awesome expierence.
My brother introduced me to your site a few months ago and I’ve enjoyed so many of your posts. But I have to say this is one of my absolute favorites. Thanks, Joel. For this post and all the others. Here’s to living the impossible dream!!
Thank you for reading Deborah :). Keep making that impossible dream a reality.
After covering over 11k miles of road tripping goodness since 2006, there are still some things that never cease to amaze.
To your point, it is one thing I have been thinking a lot about lately, how many people rush to get out of the U.S. to “see the world” yet they have no clue what is even in their backyard. As if the U.S. (or Canada) has nothing to offer them in comparison to the rest of the world.
Glad to see that you 3 were able to experience some of the amazing sites that this country has to offer.
There’s so much to see in our own backyard. And it’s so much cheaper sometimes! All you need a little time 🙂
Hey Joel,
I have been having the same thoughts lately in regards to enjoying and getting more from my life.
To me it’s all about slowing down and taking the time to “draw in” what’s all around us.
It’s so easy to get tunnel vision in life and miss all of the cool things around us.
And there’s so many cool things around us! (this sounds like I’m joking, but I’m not)
Joel, I am posting my “sent by phone” comment here now that you requested…and a little more.
To all of you who enjoy Joel’s blog, I am posting this in hopes that at least one person will be encouraged.
I am 48 and tired of living a “normal” life. I don’t want to run on and on so I’ll try to be as brief as possible. For a few weeks now I’ve been in a process of “I’ve got to do something different but WHAT?!”
I discovered Joel and was instantly hooked on his blog. I swallowed some pride and emailed him some details about myself and asked for advice even though he’s almost half my age. I can see he has his life together and I don’t so age is irrelevent.
I told him I was struggling with long 60+ weekly work hours, no college education, bad financial situation, a wife in poor health so my insurance is a must, and other things which basically had me feeling like I was in a box with no way out to a more unique life that was acceptable to me.
He advised me to start small and not try to make a huge decision to start which is scary and difficult. He reminded me EXERCISE IS FREE and pointed me to some resources. He encouraged me to look for ways to try some new things and that there are always experiences to be had for free or cheap.
I decided with Joel’s personal encouragement to start exercising at home and start looking for other small steps to take on the path to a better, more interesting life. (How cool is it that Joel takes time to try and help a total stranger like that!)
So I got in gear and here’s what I’ve done or had happen in the last TEN DAYS! Now some of this may not work out but just the fact that my life is suddenly boiling over with opportunities is mind blowing. Its like one little pebble of activity and positive thinking have started an avalanche of positive possiblities…hmm I like that phrase. Anyway:
1. I started out exercising 5 minutes the first day. Not much but its tough after a 12+ hour day in the heat. Every day I add at least another minute and I’m up to 15 minutes now.
2. I found a way to trim about $150 from my monthly expenses.
3. I was offered a chance to do an internet radio local talk show by a friend in the business. I had to decline due to a schedule conflict with my current job FOR NOW.
4. I was approached by another friend who read about my quest for fitness on facebook. He is offering to mentor me with some nutritional products and a program he sells (at a discount to me) and an opportunity to get into the business once I see that it does work if I choose to.
4. I went to a tryout for the Survivor TV show and made the film crew laugh. Who knows?…MAYBE.
5. (Sorry this involves politics)
A few weeks ago I talked to my Congresswoman at an event and asked her to pass my name and card to a presidential candidate I was interested in helping and as she knows me putting in a good word for me. I received a message from the campaign yesterday asking me to let them know what I’m interested in as they are looking for leaders in my state.
WOW! I am in awe of what’s happening. I have prayed for a new path and its like multiple ones are opening up everywhere around me. I could ramble on and on as I am giddy but I’ll close with this:
Joel is awesome AND SO ARE YOU! Look for little ways to try something new. You don’t have to turn your life upside down if that’s too scary or difficult-remember “how do you eat an elephant?” Answer-one bite at a time.
Thanks Joel for your encouragement and allowing me to share.
Don,
Enjoyed reading about all the good things you’ve been doing . . . sounds like you’ve done a lot in a short time!!
Kurt
Don, thanks so much for sharing your story. Keep up the good work!! I’ll bet everyone who read your post will be rooting for you. I know I will be!
Deb
Thanks Deb & Kurt! Sorry it took a little while to respond. Today’s progress:
So today I’m sitting watching TV and it hits me-here you are on your butt doing nothing again. It will be dark and you will be mad because you didn’t accomplish anything. So I got up and decided to go for a walk, then I said heck, I’ll try jogging- I’m 48, 6’3′ and weigh 285 and I ran 1 mile ONCE in high school and walked 2 miles a few months ago. So I start and I RAN 5 MILES!! Now to the untrained observer I may have looked like a fat guy on a painful hopping walk but who cares! I guess the physical nature of my job had me in better shape than I thought. Of course I also had to discover the joy of an ICE COLD bath when done!