Childlike Wonder
Listen: “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver
As a child, Christmas was always a magical time of year—no school, sledding for hours (back in the days when it snowed on Christmas), and Santa. In my teen years, I took a trip to the Rocky Mountains for the first time with my family, and I was smitten. I was also growing enamored with backpacking around Missouri and reading Backpacking: One Step at a Time by Harvey Manning. By the time I turned sixteen, I was taking annual trips every year to explore the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
I was enchanted with the mountains. I loved hiking, rock climbing, fly fishing, praying, dreaming, journaling, and meditating in the mountains. My annual trips to the mountains became a time to reflect on my life—where I have been and where I was going—but mostly is was a time of awe and wonder. Whether I was taking a nap in the snow at a high mountain lake in Rawah Wilderness or hoping my new tent wouldn’t be shredded by gale-force winds in the Collegiate Peaks, I always sensed a special magical presence: a connection with God and childlike wonder.
G. K. Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic. In a chapter entitled “The Ethics of Elfland,” he pointed out how you can learn the most important things in life from children’s stories (Orthodoxy: The Romance of Faith). Chesterton reflected on five truths contained in most children’s stories: (1) the world does not explain itself, it just exists; (2) miracle and beauty come from someone or something magical; (3) beauty connects to an original design, despite the fact that dragons exist; (4) humility and gratitude are appropriate responses; and (5) all goodness is a treasure.
Children are wired to see the wonder and magic of the world around them. I remember creating a swing with my arms and hands to rotate one of my nephews (two years old at the time) around in circles. He would giggle with all his might and then say, “Do it again.” After twenty minutes I was worn out, but he was ready for more. “Do it again!”
A child’s capacity to watch a cartoon over and over again with the same awe and wonder is amazing. Why do we as adults so easily lose this capacity to enjoy something so utterly spectacular? Maybe there is something eternally young hardwired into the universe to which/whom we need to stay connected. Maybe the earth says to the rising sun, “Do it again!” If dogs were purple or grass was blue, would we be more amazed?
Our brains function in a way so that negative emotions stick like glue (in the amygdala) and positive emotions slip away like teflon (See Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence by Rick Hanson). In order to reacquire childlike wonder, we need to actually pause and focus on something that is good and lovely and awe-inspiring for fifteen seconds or more before it affects our experience and mood. Some people do this by keeping a gratitude list or participating in a creative outlet or meditating.
In my darkest days (2019), I was drowning in negative emotions. I had to consciously battle for wonder, awe, and gratitude. Positive experiences and emotions I once had in abundance were on short supply in 2019. I found my greatest sources of inspiration in nature and people. Nature is a place where I find infinite enchantment. Before I felt called to be a pastor, I thought about a career in biology or forestry or wildlife. I am endlessly fascinated with planet earth and its inhabitants. People’s stories are another of my favorite sources for wonder and inspiration. Love, bravery, heartache, defeat, recovery and triumph—people walking in childlike wonder, awe, and humility are the best.
It’s no surprise to me that Jesus said we need to become more like children to enter into the experience of the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:1-6; Mark 10:13-16).
Shalom
©realfredherron 2020
