As you get older, you learn from the school books and directly from life and slowly but surely expectations arise about life, a partner, a family, a career and so on. What is being pushed further and further into the background is the sense of wonder that you can still have so openly as a child.
The benefits of wonder
A pity really, because it is precisely wonder that produces that open mind that can be so important for allowing new impressions and not being judgmental, gaining an (even) broader scope and letting the wind flow through your brain, as it were. blow.
In this way you do not have to make an effort to see what is important and what is not, you continue to have the playfulness and curiosity in your brain that stimulates creativity, your stress level is significantly lower and the responsibility of life does not hang like a shadow. millstone around many a neck.
Can wonder be stimulated?
It seems so logical to slowly but surely let go of wonder as you get older. You learn more and more and less and less gives you an aha moment, add to that the responsibility of life as you get older and your life path seems to be mapped out by yourself or not. At such a moment the chance of surprise is indeed minimal, but in addition to a pleasant feeling, it is also good for your creativity and growth as a person if you allow it. This does not mean that you act completely like a child and throw away all responsibility, but you can slowly stimulate your sense of wonder.
Ask questions…
It starts with consciously asking questions, questions such as:
- Who am I?
- What is that?
- How is it going?
But these are also questions to which you do not want a ready-made answer, but answers that you will look for or formulate yourself and, as it were, open your brain to everything that something can be, what you want it to be or could be. Just say that you don’t know or understand something.
Let that wind blow through your brain, as it were, and be open to everything that comes your way. This also means that you do not allow yourself to be limited . After all.
- …why isn’t a house purple?
- … why do you normally sit on a chair and the floor is not a ‘normal’ place to sit?
- …how different would the world look if rain were pink?
- …why do we find it strange when coffee is red?
- … how different is it when you swim in a pool where goldfish are happily swimming around?
and so on.
Take some rest
In order to come to all those questions and really experience them as such and possibly let your imagination loose on them, it is important to take a moment for this, preferably every day. This does not have to be an hour-long session, but 15 minutes every day, all to yourself in a relaxed way, to be amazed again. It has to become second nature and that takes time.
Meditation can help you grab and hold such a moment. Nothing vague, but just sit relaxed in a quiet environment, be aware of the moment and let go of all your (pre)judgments, truths and facts (after all, who ever decided that?). From the moment you let go, there is room for wonder and being surprised (again). To get started well, it makes sense to pick up a subject and get started with it. Think about:
- Search and find 5 animals in your immediate area. It is too easy to name the dog and cat in the house, look for the non-obvious answers such as a spider in the corner, a moth that did not survive the winter or the bird that eats all those goodies in your garden takes.
- Do everything very consciously this day. This means that when you get up after your meditation moment, you are aware of the fact that you can so easily get up and walk to the kitchen. You walk up the stairs by raising your knees or you lean forward to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and yet you don’t fall over.
- Everyone is new and unknown to you. A nice one, because it can give very special reactions. But you look carefully at everyone you meet that day, as if you were seeing him or her for the first time. You are amazed at the things you still see (while that shouldn’t be possible at all if you have known someone for years, right?).
- Not easy for many, but leave everything related to news out of reach for part of the day. No telephone, computer, television, newspaper, etc. Make sure that you hold on to this moment by simply being who you are and feeling it. Living in the NOW is more difficult than you think, but it is still important not to let the future, possibilities, etc. into your head.
Finally
This type of exercise makes you slowly learn that if you open up, there is much more to see than you thought. In fact, it is no more than a moment a day to step back into that brash little child who was discovering the world. Besides a pleasant feeling, it brings you new insights, creativity and fresh air. Things that you can apply in daily life in all kinds of ways.