In exploring the wonders of this world, this can go in a huge number of directions.  There are physical wonders, emotional wonders, grand and small things that are incredible and amazing.  The world we occupy is so diverse and varied it boggles the mind.

Some wonders are more obvious to most than others.  The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, for example.  These seven constructs – the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis as Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus at Rhodes, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the still standing Pyramids of Giza inspired awe at their beauty and grandeur.  Other familiar works like the Easter Island heads or Angkor Wat or the Statue of Liberty take on a similar role for modern man.

Some wonders are natural.  The Grand Canyon, the Vortices at Sedona, the Cliffs of Dover, the Alps, Mount Fuji for example.  Wonders come in so many variations, and make up so many things, it is both hard to choose one to write about, and yet it is a topic one can spend a lifetime in study of.

What IS wonder?  Perhaps this is worth exploring further.  Visiting dictionary.com, we get multiple definitions.  But those relevant to our topic here include:

won·der

verb (used without object)

2. to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel (often followed by at): He wondered at her composure in such a crisis.

verb (used with object)

5. to feel wonder at: I wonder that you went

noun

6. something strange and surprising; a cause of surprise, astonishment or admiration:  That building is a wonder.

7. the emotion excited by what is strange and surprising; a feeling of surprised or puzzled interest, sometimes tinged with admiration:  He felt wonder at seeing the Grand Canyon.

Wonder is an amazing concept, whether verb or noun.  Its rather amazing how many places this can be applied to our wondrous world, as such.

It is presumed that we are the only animals capable of feeling wonder.  Sure, we have seen curiosity from apes and dogs and cats and such…but wonder is a much more complex, hard-to-define notion.  Given the above definitions, wonder covers an immense amount of territory.

I consider it a privilege to explore our wondrous world on a weekly basis.  Partially because I get to look at and talk about expansive, well-known marvels, and in part because I get to explore with you everyday wonders we readily take for granted.

That we can have this sense of wonder, that we can see this world for so much endless possibility is so easy to forget.  We get caught up in mundane concerns that make us neglect the need to FEEL wonder for the world.  Like our need for food and air and companionship, it cannot be entirely ignored. We thrive on our ability to feel and use complex emotions such as wonder.

Children are constantly seeing wonder as they are exposed to new things.  It is a part of our growth and experience.  As we get older, and our responsibilities change, we start to find less time to wonder and be excited by the new.  We do our daily routine, and often forget that there is always something new and wondrous to discover, or old and wondrous to RE-discover.

As we explore the wondrous world in these weekly posts, I want to help you recapture your sense of wonder, as I re-explore my own.  I want to conclude with a simple question – what was the last thing to make you feel a sense of wonder?

I am MJ Blehart, your Wednesday’s Wondrous World wordsmith.  Every week I will be sharing a wonder of this amazing world, and I hope you will enjoy the journey with me!  And (please indulge this moment of shameless self promotion) check out my blog, The Ramblings of a Titanium Don, for more of my philosophical and topical opinions.