What If We Become Radically Amazed?
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Mid-April, Pemaquid, Me ~ budding begins
I’ve been wondering what habits, patterns, mindsets will remain post-COVID and which will just go away. There is one habit I’m trying to keep and I invite you to make it part of your ‘new norm’ too. It’s the habit of Radical Amazement. What the heck is that, you ask. Well, I shall answer! Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (one of my all time sages) winsomely said, ““Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ....get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted.” Why? Because “Mankind will not perish for want of information; but only for want of appreciation.”*
Mackerel Sky” so named since it looks like the scales of a mackerel
I’ve spent a lot of time looking upward this past year plus. Literally and metaphorically. The colors, patterns, movement, sounds of creatures, breezes, gusts and silence of blue, clouds, canopies, greens, whites, grays. Every single day, I am Radically Amazed at the sky (ok, Maine sky). It never gets old, it never gets less majestic, mystical, magical and stunningly beautiful. It is different every minute, hour, day and yet the same ~ a paradox of the new and the steadfast.
Please join me in Radical Amazement. Today, this week, just go outside for a few minutes and look around - take a short walk, look at the trees, grass, flowers, creatures, everything and anything, feel the breeze, cherish the stillness, and dwell in some radical amazement to rejuvenate your mind and soul … to appreciate all that we have and are despite everything, all that remains glorious despite us. And if you’re willing, share it with me here. I wish you the joy and serenity of Radical Amazement.
