WonderWoman

At a very young age, as early as I can remember, my eyes have always tilted upward, seeking..almost expecting wonder to sneak up and tickle me from out of the expansive blue sky. As children we hold wonder like a cup of warm cocoa with marshmallows, whipped cream..and sprinkles! Tiny hands cupping it near to us always situated at the heart's center, as the children's version of Namaste.

I feel so fortunate now as an adult to be able to recall so many wonders which have graced me from childhood to present. Retrieving early memories of being raised by a young hippie mom, I remember the cursed: brown earth shoes, running around naked even when my three year-old modesty inherently objected,  eating veggie meatloaf..it was yellow! Moreover I remember the grace of being raised by her. Bike rides down to the river beds, turning over stones and looking for fossils, discovering that we lived beside a fairy hill (which I later learned were fireflies) and being visited during the night by the Tooth Fairy who left behind her tiny wand and glittery-gold footprints beside my bed! Later moving to Florida, I learned the foam on the turquoise waves were mermaid kisses being blown from a faraway sandbar. 

Along with the magical was also the scary. The drive to my grandmother's meant passing the Grouch Forest where the Fanny-Biter lived. I think I imagined something out of Pink Floyd coming to bite my behind if I didn't behave. It was the kind of scary which sends little kids screaming, knees popping up into the air, in harmony with laughter. The kind of scary I still love to this day, stoking my passion for a good ghost story.

With this wonder and instilled fantasy, life was just as much the technicolor saturation as the Wizard of Oz. Sesame Street was great, but who needed TV when you had a pet crow named Sammy ( a story for another time)? Everything including the inanimate was animated and anthropomorphized. With this wonder brought a sensitivity to life around me. Everything became a treasure. It's why I still bring home stones from my hikes and shells from the beach. It's why I was thrilled off my chair to see a hummingbird for the very first time, watching in awe, as it twirled around foxgloves and danced along the treetops of Ventana. It's why I couldn't possibly live without animals in my life. It's why I continuously ask the Divine for signs when I'm empty on answers. And it's probably why I am so fascinated by the work of Reiki, the peace and healing it brings and the messages I receive while working in such sacred space.

This sense of wonder allows us to defy the implausible. It allows us to shrug and say hmm..may-be! It allows us to make a wish. It allows us to pray. It allows us to experiment, explore and expand beyond our limits. It allows us faith in something higher and the opportunity to be boundless in our will. It's what makes us creative beings. It's what makes us appreciative for simple surprises and miracles. Without wonder we lose imagination and possibilities. 

The wildy surreal filmmaker,  Fellini once said, "Never lose your childish enthusiasm and things will come your way." Take a moment today and remember the many wonders which have filled your life. Let these memories fuel your present state, easing the struggle held in our rational mind, tilting your eyes upward with the knowledge that there is always more to come!