I wonder what ever happened to wonder. God has planted eternity into the hearts of mankind. Like a tiny seed that will one day grow into a majestic towering tree there is a speck of desire, a promise of awe that is planted into the very fertile heart of human beings. Yet I wonder where that wonder has gone.
We are so prone to wandering away from wonder. We run from the mysterious. We chart out our lives; planning, scheming and mapping out our journeys. We teach our children that laws and numbers govern their lives. We show them formulas and equations.
As each year passes them by they grow less and less intrigued by the fiery splashes of reds, oranges, and purples as the suns last rays brush the clouds on a winter night. We are taught to figure. Taught to explain. Taught to rationalize. The stars go from being twinkling sentinels in the deep, dark azure ocean of the heavens to simply being giant balls of burning gas that will one day wink out of existence.
We are conditioned to make habits. Habits that edge out wonder at the end of the day. Habits that drain the mystery out of life. Habits that squeeze the wonder out of our hearts.
We wander through the course of our life erecting mile markers and sign posts, conquering frontiers as we go. I wonder, in all this wandering, do we ever arrive? With each generation that explodes on the scene and then fades into obscurity there have been discoveries, explanations, and rationalizations that erode wonder away. Progress and her companion, Technology, threaten to choke the last vestiges of wonder from mankind’s hearts.
I wonder if life would be lived better if lived in the fashion of the ancients. Magi following a star that to them was surely a sign of some great happening. Sailors fearing the great chasm of emptiness at the ocean’s edge. Astronomers seeing the heavens as a great canvas painted by something far greater than themselves. Tribes appreciating wildlife as something more than just a meal or a commodity to raise funds.
Yet here we are today with more technology, more knowledge, more stuff than ever. There are hardly any mysteries left. Science has driven us indoors. It has increased the quality of living, while at the same time decreasing the quality of living, really living.
In spite of the heaps of knowledge we accumulate, the piles of explanations and equations that categorize the minutia of our very existence, there still remains a flicker of wonder within every man, woman, boy and girl. Some call it chemical, some call it emotion, I call it wonder.
It is the very DNA of God sewn into the fabric of our hearts. Our spirits, the core of who we are, are designed to respond to something bigger, better, and more wonderful than we could ever imagine. No theories or theses could come close to capturing the essence of that divine spark within the depths of who we are.
I truly believe that God has given us science, technology, and progress for our benefit. I believe He has given them to us to better the quality of life for those around us. I believe we have taken those things and used them as swords to fight off mystery, mysticism, and wonder. It doesn’t kill us to have knowledge. In fact, knowledge is a beautiful thing. But when knowledge muscles out wonder, we’re left with empty facts and meaningless formulas that do nothing to assure us of what’s next.
Take some time this week to pursue wonder. Do something simple with family and friends to capture moments of wonder. Take in a sunset. Play in the rain. Gaze at the stars. Listen to waves crashing at the ocean. Be still and just listen to a child breathe as they sleep. Take in the beauty of your lover’s eyes. Rest your head on their chest and just listen to the rhythmic beating of their heart. Ponder. Wonder.
13 Comments, Comment or Ping
Jeff M. Miller
Great post, Russ. I find myself in complete agreement.
Take heart, because your post exhibits that wonder still exists. You wouldn’t have asked the question if you yourself did not still have the necessary curiosity within you.
Aug 26th, 2008
tam
russ. so well articulated! im sending this to a couple of my friends…
Aug 26th, 2008
Russ
Thanks Jeff.
I appreciate your kind words. It’s something I’ve been pondering lately. We get so caught up in “stuff” that at times we don’t see the world around us as a wonderfully magnificent work of art crafted by a loving Creator.
Here’s to wonder.
Aug 26th, 2008
Russ
Tam, thanks for your kind words, as well. God has given us such a beautiful canvas covered with so many splashes of color and wonder that at times like this I wonder how I could have ever forgotten how beautiful our world is.
Aug 26th, 2008
klampert
wow man…well said…I am trying to find the wonder again myself. thanks
Aug 26th, 2008
russhutto
Klampert: rock it, man! Keep me informed of your journey.
Aug 26th, 2008
Ed
Tam sent me your article. I am a non-believer. Science and evolution are my great hopes for the future.
Trying to increase my understanding the world around me does not decrease my wonder at the miracle of life and the awesome spectacle of nature. A rainbow is beautiful, the Grand Canyon is spectacular, even though I know how they are formed.
Every scientist I have read will tell you how little we actually know about how the universe works. We are like children taking our first baby steps in trying to understand the wonder that surrounds us.
I agree we need to spend time not thinking about the why and how. To just absorb the beauty and wonder in front of our eyes. When I watch the sun rise over the ocean at dawn I try to clear my mind and just soak in the energy of the new dawn, breath in the fresh breeze off the ocean, and listen to the waves rolling in over the beach.
Science is about thinking anything is possible, about asking questions. The answers to these questions continue to amaze me and fill me with wonder at the beauty in nature.
Aug 27th, 2008
love
Hi Russ, i’m Tam’s ’second’ friend ( that girl’s gonna double your view stats!
She’s good like that (and also in more ways than i can count and i am very good with numbers) 
First off - don’t listen to Ed - we don’t agree! he IS a believer, he has just forgetten he is for a short time ! ( Sorry Ed, but it is true!) As for everything else he wrote…? he got it spot on in my opinion.
Wonder is most definitely what drives scientists - the desire to explain the unknown is as deep inside us as is our unquenchable sense of wonder - each new ‘discovery’ ( lit - an uncovering) only reveals yet new and unexpected areas for wonder to begin anew and not get stale and tired.
Einstein was a man full of wonder with a unique ability to observe, question, visualise and reveal Truth underlying what others could only wonder about or give up trying to understand… His Famous equation, itself a source of wondrous and beautiful ’simplicity’; that all the ‘matter’ in the world is perfectly and exactly defined in equality to all the energy in the universe through one simple formula has helped lead today’s scientists into previously unimaginable regions of thought and further wonder as well as being responsible for ending the Second World War more quickly and bringing cheap electricity to millions of lives around the globe ( and admittedly threatening the existance of life on earth also - but we seem to be ‘wiser’ now, thankfully).
As a ‘reformed’ scientific Atheist, with a passion for astronomy and knowledge and appreciation of all life on this wondrous planet we share, i can say with certainty that i am completely filled with awe and wonder through my knowledge and understanding of Mathematical Chaos Theory; at how simple are the basic underlying formulae and remarkably simple act of iteration that can generate such unimaginably beautiful and complex wonders as shown in a graphic representation of a Mandlebrot Set ( look one up on wikipedia if you don’t yet know what i am referring to here) That such ‘logical’ and ‘cold’ explanations of how they are formed in no way reduce my sense of wonder at just how amazing they are - and even better - because of them and their sheer simplicity i am able to better appreciate how simply and easily God works on the Universe to create similar levels of complex, seemingly unbelieveable and unimaginable creations from only the very simplest of beginnings from The Void. - given aeons of time and simple ‘progression’ (evolution).
Like Ed expressed above and you stated a desire for, the wonder that is in all our hearts is not deadened through knowledge and scientific understandings - certainly not to me and to Ed and many others who share similar belief. Rather it is extended into ever-greater unknowingness and wonder.
To me, wondering is the natural preliminary to the search for understanding.. wondering what?, how?, why?, when?, what if? leads the human spirit and our lives out of stagnation and darkness and into the Light that we might better and more fully ‘know’ be it an atom, a cell, an organism, ourselves, our fellow human beings, our country, our planet and life on it, or the Universe beyond our solar system all of which ultimately can only lead us towards a better understanding knowing and connection to God.
At least that’s my ‘view’ and it never ever stops me from being constantly full of wonder..often at even the simplest of things - or at least those that require the least amount of effort to appreciate.
I know how a rainbow is formed - i could work out the curvature and span of one were i so inclined using formulae.. but i’d rather capture the sheer awe-inspiring beauty of the one i see out my window with my digital camera and share it with my friends. I understand the simple genetics of two different poppy plants that grow in my garden and know exactly why those two plants have four distinctly differing flower formations, and yet their sheer unimaginable redness and beauty inspires me to do the same as for the rainbow - so that others in my life can share in my child-like wonder….
Maybe i need to add you into my ‘loop’??
If there is a reason wonder seems to be disappearing in human life i feel you need to lay the blame elsewhere… maybe the overwhelming human trait of greed for wealth? or common conformity? and the growing pre-occupation in our society with ‘purely self-indulgent fame’ perhaps?
oh and one other thing… i could not imagine for one second anyone wanting to swap the level of ‘wonder’ we currently possess for that of the Ancients as that requires us to also accept their levels of hard labour, unsaintary conditions for their family’s, unlawful marauding tribes of warriors and bandits, shorter lifespans and poor nutrition that most of the planet endured before science came into being.
love
<B
Aug 27th, 2008
russhutto
@Ed, thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts. They are much appreciated.
@Love, thanks for your comments, I do appreciate them.
One thing I love about the blogosphere is it’s diversity. I’m able to post my thoughts on wonder and I get a handful of great thoughts in return. Which in turn, cause me to ponder even more deeply than I already have been. Beautiful.
My entire post was not necessarily blaming science or technology for the loss of wonder, but more so the routine we get into that is so easily available to us because of science and technology. WE, as a society, have allowed knowledge, materialism, and status quo to replace wonder as a whole.
Believe me, not for one second, do I accuse scientists or seekers of truth as being the squelchers of wonder. I know wonder drives us to learn. I know wonder drives us to experiment, to challenge the status quo, to push the boundaries of known knowledge. My beef is with ME, with us, with the whole.
WE have left wonder as a society. Sure we have flickers of moments occasionally when we see a rainbow or a beautiful sunset. THAT is what this post is about. Recapturing those moments. Using science and technology as a plow, not a sword, to cultivate wonder, not to beat it back.
I imagine you’re right, Love, about the quality of living of the ancients, though. I wouldn’t trade my lifestyle now for that hard way of life, but I would ponder it. I would think about it. And that’s what this post is about…wonder.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Ed and Love.
Aug 27th, 2008
brent(inWorship)
It’s funny that I read this as I am thinking through how to better organize my life.
They both have their place, but I think where I get in trouble is organizing my walk with Christ. I try to plan it or believe I need to do this or that. I am trying to learn how to dig into Him, while allowing Him to direct my path. It’s hard. I will never lose the wonder.
And I’m a Tam fan, but she didn’t send me here
Aug 29th, 2008
Russ
@Brent: Thanks for stopping by. I desperately need organization in my life. Always. I’ve noticed I get so much more done when I categorize my schedule by tasks and contexts. My wife is one of the most organized people I know. You’d think it would grate on me, being that I’m such a creative person, but it doesn’t. She inspires me so much.
I would never suggest embracing a lack of good habits (punctuatlity, organization, structure) to pursue “wonder” - for me it’s more about pursuing “wonder” by taking moments to “breathe” from our routines.
I’ve noticed many of blogger friends taking one day per week and unplugging from the wired world, some even take a week off. They come back to the technology and habits that make there days meaningful and productive with a renewed sense of pursuit.
I use google calendar like a madman. I’d be “lost” without it. But would I really? I guess my overarching line of thinking through my whole wonder series is that though science and tech are truly beneficial in our world, they are not totally necessary to live a good life.
I hope to embrace science and tech as avenues to better the lives of my family members and those around me, and pray those “avenues” never replace the connection, the relationships, the wonder of life.
Aug 29th, 2008