Day 4--Cultivating a Sense of Wonder

Today's #reverb10 prompt asks us to consider: Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

This may be the easiest of the reverb 10 prompts thus far, partially because the answer to this question is rather immediate for me. Even though it's been a stressful and often times confusing year, there are many ways in which I still cultivate wonder in my life. It is, in many ways, when my mind is unfogged, a natural state of being for me.

For some reason, when I thought of wonder, I thought of the Portland, Maine Farmer's Market held every Saturday at Deering Oaks Park. I love going to this incredible farmer's market. The vegetables and flowers are stunning, and I often walk around as if in a trance, collecting new delights in my big old bag. The other reason I think the farmer's market came to mind is because I often take photographs at the farmer's market and the process of photography always provokes a sense of wonder for me. When I got my new iphone in September, the first app I downloaded was the hipstamatic, a camera function that mimics old processes. I LOVE taking photos with my fancy digital camera, but I love the surprising results I often get with my hipstamatic more. I'll include some of them below so you can see what I mean.

I would also say that in some ways teaching provides a sense of wonder, because I always wonder how my students will react to the material I present, and how they will reckon with it in their own writing. Sometimes I do marvel at what they come up with, in good and bad ways. But I also think the very act of teaching, at its best, is the process of cultivating a sense of wonder in your students. And I work hard at this. Very hard--with varying degrees of success depending upon the topic, and the students.

While I am guilty as the next person regarding getting into routines and habits and living in my own little bubble, I've not yet lost my sense of wonder--and for that, I'm grateful. It's easy to get back. I can wander by the ocean. I can open a book. I can start taking pictures. I can teach something I'm passionate about. It all works.

As an afterthought, I also started canning for the first time this year, and that was totally wonder provoking. A satisfying sense of I made this, and it's lovely.