"There Is So Much Wonder in the World Today."

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand 

and a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

and Eternity in an Hour."

            --William Blake

 Brain cancer is...

 ...living a life of wonder.

I did not look forward to our walk today.  I just wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.  My plan was to appreciate one bloom, snap its pic, and then walk fast.  Here's that first flower:

I was taken by the colors, the symmetry of the dark dots, and the optimism of each blossom turning its face to the sun. With the flowers captured, I said, "Great!  Walk on!"    

But within the next 10 minutes, I had to stop twice more:

No Filter! Crazy bright!

Each flower had such interesting and delicate parts.

When I apologized for slowing us down, Darrell said, "It's okay.  There is just so much wonder in the world today."

Hey, yeah!  Just like that Darrell helped me to slow down and experience wonder.

We definitely have experienced an abundance of wonder in our lives post diagnosis.  The whole world just has brighter colors and more bountiful surprises.  Like today.

Wonder is defined as a playful emotion when we slow down, really look, and are surprised by what we see.   It slows down time and makes us feel connected to the world through its big or small workings.*

We think Linda and Brady might be touching upon wonder when they talk about giving and receiving joy.  And we're pretty sure Curt experienced something close to wonder when his sunflowers sprouted today.

So why the top photo?  Where's the wonder? Darrell was saying, "Imaginee how long and strong that bolt is to join the guard rail and two posts."  He was demonstrating that different eyes are open to different source of wonder.  Note to self:  Walk with people whose eyes are open to things I miss.

Thanks for the wonder, Darrell!

*Drawn from the work of A. T. DeBenedet in Playful Intelligence:  The Power of Living Lightly in a Serious World


Square Inch of Silver Lining

No travel time in getting together with friends!

Today's Bloom

A rose that looks like a peppermint candy? It smells definitely like a rose.