When we began visioning for our Wild Wonder Collection, we got pretty excited, pretty quickly. One of the reasons for that, is that wonder is part of the heartbeat of Joyfully Said! This entire business was built around the question: "I wonder what could happen...?" While I, Chelsea, tend to play it a bit safer, my better half Wes is a natural dreamer. He lives for wonder... and to be honest, it has served him pretty well. He has a natural propensity toward curiosity and a natural appreciation for the details in the beauty around him. As a result, most of us around here would agree that he helps us all to take bigger faith steps and seek a little extra adventure in our lives. So... as we worked with this collection's talented artist, Hannah Weisner, to curate a small gallery of pieces that we helped paint the larger feeling of wonder, we thought it would also be fun to take a bit of a deep dive with Wes into the idea of wonder, and how it has played a role in his life. Here's what he had to say!
Chelsea: What does it mean to you to live with a sense of wonder?
Wes: To see the ordinary as extraordinary. To be able to view everything around me with a curiosity for how it's made and the beauty of the detail it contains.
Chelsea: Do you feel that wonder is a worthwhile practice, and why?
Wes: Of course it's a worthwhile practice! It helps to not just exist and go throughout your days "sleeping." It helps us to enjoy and appreciate each moment. Practicing wonder allows your mind to think outside the normal framework of everyday and to practice creativity. With creativity comes better problem-solving and solutions that may be out of the traditional box. Wonder helps us envision what we can't yet see and to become excited about what has yet to happen. As I think of it, I think wonder and faith really go hand in hand. By practicing wonder, it also increases my faith.
Chelsea: What are some practical ways to cultivate wonder in your day-to-day life?
Wes: Some things that I do include listening to worship music and reading the Bible, spending time in nature, regularly meeting with other guys that I can dream with, feeding my sense of curiosity rather than shying away from it, living life at a slower pace if at all possible (even though my wife is the opposite, ha!)
With a world as beautiful as ours, one thing is for sure: it is worthy of wonder. Choosing to see with eyes of awe can change our heart's posture toward gratitude, and ultimately, toward worship of the One who created it all. Cheers, friends, to ordinary days full of extraordinary wonder.
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" Psalms 8:3-4
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