I had been curious about something for long– why weren’t these findings shared more widely – in the schools we went to, to ‘Joe the plumber’ and the generation of kids who are at school today? The standard answer I get is “the math is too complicated”. That’s it? Pleeeease! People! Do you realize what we have done? We have taken away the wonder of the real world from a whole generation of kids who grew up. If we don’t act now, we’ll lose another generation of children. Science is boring for kids? Not if you stir their sense of wonder.
What can be more disheartening to a child than growing up in a society that thinks it already has all the answers?
Should it surprise us then, that teens and adults alike seek solace in Harry Potter, magical worlds, vampires, X-Men, video games, drugs and sex to fuel their sense of wonder?
Should it surprise us then, that corporations plead with employees to ‘open their mind’, ‘think outside the square’, ‘transform’, ‘innovate’, ‘think blue sky’ and ‘blue ocean strategy’ but still fall short?
The moment you open yourself to wonder, you are on the path to being fully alive, in the real world. You are on the path to new insights.
Regardless of your reason for reading this blog, regardless of the path you take, at some point in time, if you begin to have a healthy sense of wonder, you have joined the highway that all urban monks use.
Knowing this, choose wisely.
The next time your child sits on your lap and asks “Mommy, where did that big white ball in the sky come from?”, tell them “Why don’t we search and find out what we know so far”. You’d be surprised as well when you find out where the moon came from.
Rediscover wonder even for yourself, with the help of your children.
The next time you want real transformation in a team, start by changing the vocabulary.
I don’t know if —-> I wonder if
I don’t think we can —–> I wonder if we can
It doesn’t work that way —-> I wonder if that’s how it works
See beyond “I know/I don’t know”
see beyond “I think/I don’t think”,
there and then, you’ll find wonder.
There and then, you’ll find the insight you need
For the situation you are in
People are smart. They are all sparks of the universe. So, you don’t need to make them smart. Just rekindle their sense of wonder. They will then start to see differently. Reality will change along with them. It’s a never ending dance after all.
Zukov sums it up nicely – “If the new physics has led us anywhere, it is back to ourselves”
Ok this post brought a flood of thoughts with it. One part of me wholeheartedly agrees with you. I have always been a person with lot of wonder for this world we live in. Even though I know a leaf is made of cells and how it works etc, it hasn’t stopped me from wondering about it all. Same with stars – though I know the theories, I have always had a sense of wonderment about them. So I agree that the wonder shouldn’t fade away as you grow up and face ‘facts’.
Now here comes the ‘but”.
The next time your child sits on your lap and asks “Mommy, where did that big white ball in the sky come from?”, tell them “Why don’t we search and find out what we know so far”.
The mother in me doesn’t totally agree with this here. To encourage the sense of wonder in children, you should encourage the questions they ask. If you try and restrict that, thats when the questioning stops and the wonderment ceases. But what I’m not sure of is the answer you have to give. As parents, we are the top source for the children’s knowledge thirst. So everytime they ask a question and you do know the answer (albeit according to you, the answer may change tomorrow and your knowing the answer is a cease of wonderment), I wonder (:-D) whether its okay to say “I wonder how it works”. If you don’t give the answer alteast sometimes, aren’t you depriving them of the knowledge you have gained yourself through years of study? Hmm I wonder :).
To add to the same note, another thing is safety issue. Say my child wonders what will happen if she dances in the middle of the street or play with fire. I know she will get hurt, so are you saying that I should encourage her to find out by herself and get injured without imparting the knowledge of “She may get hurt if she does that”? Again I’m not very sure. I try and let go whenever she does some acrobatics at parks etc, because I feel we should encourage children to explore and its okay if they fall once in a while, but then again I always wonder if and when she’ll get hurt, I’ll blame myself for not stopping her. So there’s a bit of dilemma here and I feel this wonderment should be balanced. Sorry if I’m too practical, but I can’t take the risk of wonder when a child’s safety is the issue..
Well put, deeps. The key, like you say, is Balance.
Dear Urban Monk,
couldn’t agree with you more! a life without wonder is the poorest poverty of soul. thanks for posting your ponderings! purely passionate!