The Call of Wonder

Reflection #63: Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened

When I first realized that curiosity is an important creative and spiritual force that calls to us and nudges us in the right direction, I struggled with how to explain the idea with the appropriate gravitas because the word curiosity, in modern usage, can have two meanings with important but subtle differences.

The lesser meaning is captured in the phrase ‘idle curiosity.’  You might be talking with your spouse and you become curious what movies Chris Hemsworth has starred in.  So you Google it.  Or you spend an hour scrolling your social media feeds because you're ‘curious.’  That is not the type of curiosity to which I refer. 

Curiosity also has a deeper meaning.  It can refer to a deep passionate curiosity, of the type Einstein referred to when he said, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”   

Einstein's curiosity came from a childlike sense of wonder that led him to question the familiar and mysterious. He believed that people should try to understand a little of the mystery of life and reality every day.  That is the type of curiosity to which I refer.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day.” — Einstein

So, I began to call this second type of curiosity Inspired Deep Curiosity (as opposed to shallow, follow-a-pointless-rabbit-hole curiosity).  But the phrase always seemed a bit clunky.  Fortunately, I stumbled upon the correct word when I said Einstein’s curiosity came from a childlike sense of wonder.  We often pair the words ‘childlike’ and ‘wonder,’ but the ‘childlike’ part is unnecessary.  We can all experience wonder, we’ve only forgotten how. In fact we are meant to experience (and create) wonder, and the first step is to follow that feeling of inspired curiosity, when it kindles in our hearts, back into the wondrous kingdom.  If you aren’t sure where to start, think back to what fascinated you as a child. 

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” — Christ, Matthew 18:3

Inspired deep curiosity is wonder.  It is deeper than a simple desire to learn something intellectually.  It is a yearning to know.  We may be curious to understand the rituals that a religion uses in their worship services.  But we want to know God. We wonder what the divine mystery truly is, and when we glimpse it, we feel wonder.  

The mind asks how, but the heart, through wonder, asks why.  If a little child asks you why the sky is blue, the answer he is seeking is deeper than the the fact that blue light has the shortest wavelengths that scatter the most.  That is the scientific answer that explains how the sky appears blue. It doesn’t answer the question why. 

I used to post from time to time, an aphorism which stated, “A painter shows me what he painted but an artist shows me why.”  True art kindles wonder.

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” ― Socrates

Wonder is the “call to adventure” in the real “hero’s journey” of our lives. Wonder is a pulling, a calling and we feel it in both the need to know, but also in the need to express. With wonder, we both follow and lead.  It kindles feelings and such feelings often need to be shared; ex-pressed; pressed out to the world at large.  We feel a sense of wonder when we see a beautiful sunset and we may sense the need to express something about it.  And the art we create out of wonder creates wonder, a call to adventure, in others! 

It’s a much deeper curiosity than mere curiosity.  The feeling of wonder is one of recognition.  It resonates with your soul because it is your soul, the one soul, The Sovereign Artist.  In the song of creation it’s a melody of familiarity that resonates inside the instrument of you, and it begs you to feel that resonance and add your harmony to the symphony.  When you do, both your mind and your soul grow, which is a big part of our purpose here.

Wonder, I realize, increasingly, is a divine gift. 

Wonder inspires. Wonder calls. Wonder leads. Wonder captivates. Wonder surprises.  Wonder overtakes us and brings us into the eternal now. 

Wonder fills us with inspiration. It fills us with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. Wonder causes us to search for novelty and to make connections that nobody has ever made before (such as Einstein did when wondering about the nature of space and time).  

Wonder itself is a mysterious force.  I don’t know what this force is - perhaps it is simply one’s subconscious.  Or perhaps, since time is an illusion, it is your future or past whispering to you.  Maybe it is something truly divine.  Wherever these feelings and ideas come from, these deep yearnings are breadcrumbs in the forest of life, calling out to you, whispering in your ear, creating in you a subtle sense of anxiety when you ignore them and a feeling of rightness when you listen their call.  Wonder leads to growth.  So follow wonder, for it will lead you to the path of meaning — the path of soul growth, which is the path of the true fulfillment of your Self.  

Seeking wonder is the method by which we find our true calling.  As artists it is the path to inspiration and even to choice of medium and preferred mode of expression.  Some people become fascinated by the way they can mix oil paints and create paintings with texture.  Others love the way watercolors run and mix to create ‘happy accidents.’  My path of wonder eventually led me to (re)discover my love for the beauty of words and the mental worlds of magic that well-crafted language contains the power to create.

When you tread the path of wonder, when you do the thing that you yearn to do, when you do that which only you can do...that is where you will be of most service to the world, for that is why you feel an intense magnetic pull to do it. That is why you are here.   So seek wonder.

One of my core beliefs is that if you are radically self-indulgent then what you feel called to do is actually of service to the world." - Devin Martin  [source]

To hear wonder’s call to adventure, you must stop distracting yourself and listen to your deepest self.  Stop scrolling social media and turn off the TV! Most people experience a small version of the whisper of wonder when they have great ideas pop into their heads as they take a shower.  For many of us in modern society, a shower is the only time we aren’t staring at a screen!  Don’t do that! Set aside some time for reflection, for daydreaming, for meditation, or for simply sitting outside and listening to the birds.  The art of leisure is a lost art indeed - and one that desperately needs a revival!

When you listen to wonder’s whisper, pay attention as you go about your regular life – You will start to notice synchronicities.  “Non-believers” call synchronicities coincidences.  That is fine.  It doesn't matter what you call them.  They will appear either way.

Here’s an example:  the importance of ‘deep curiosity’ had been fermenting in the back of my mind for a while, perhaps a month or two, and the idea grew in clarity as it ripened.  And, then, suddenly, I noticed a couple of “synchronicities” first hand.  

We went out one Friday night with some friends and, as we all piled into her sport SUV, one of her audiobooks started playing and it was a book espousing the importance of curiosity in reaching our full potential. (The book is called Hidden Potential by Adam Grant.  I've not read the book, but it sounds like it covers ideas similar to what we are discussing in this chapter.)  

A few days later, I stumbled across the ideas of Tom Morgan on his Substack publication, What’s Important (which I highly recommend, now called, The Leading Edge). Tom’s writings might be summed up with a quote from The Mystery of Curiosity, in which he says, “If I could have any contribution to the world, it would be to make people trust the power of their own curiosity a little more.”

“If I could have any contribution to the world, it would be to make people trust the power of their own curiosity a little more.” - Tom Morgan

By the way, if you ignore wonder’s call, you will likely feel some level of discontent; some low but constant level of suffering.  This deep discontent is your subconscious, which knows intimately that you are not living up to your full potential. In such a state it’s as if you are Harry Potter and say to Hagrid, “No thanks.  I’ll pass on being a wizard and stay here with the Dursley’s.”  This constant existential angst is felt by many in modern society and it is reflected in the angry, anxious, divided, envy-filled state of modern western civilization.

To seek wonder is an act of the heart, of courage. Courage is a word derived from the old french ‘corage’ which, just like the modern French word ‘coeur,’ means ‘heart’. 

What I do know is that people who have had the bravery, the cour-age to follow their hearts into the call of wonder, and who eventually did take a leap of faith and dive deeply into the adventure, are rarely regretful that they did so.

Wonder calls.  It calls you home into the realm where Art is forged.  Will you answer?  Will you seek wonder?

“I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonder full world.” 

What a Wonderful World, 
Louis Armstrong

This reflection is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, The Sovereign Artist.

Inside of each of us lies a divine force - The Sovereign Artist Within - a remarkable force which brings joy, peace, creativity and love back into our lives. This approach to the creative process saved me, and it can save you too, perhaps it can save us all. Connecting with The Sovereign Artist manifests as an explosion of creativity, peace, and quiet inner joy. It transforms the artist into a reflection of itself - sovereign, free, joyful and loving. If that is of interest, please click the button below to join the book’s waitlist.

Creatively,

Clintavo
Seek Wonder. Create Life.
Sum Ergo Creo

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