WONDER

This is excitement. When was the last time you marveled? It's strange how this subject speaks to my insides; it seems trivial, and yet it grips us at the deepest level. Wonder describes the impulse to stop and think about things, to find them beautiful, interesting, curious, admirable, or strange. It captures us when we look at a landscape, a mountain top, a baby's gestures, or a lover's mouth. It takes our breath away at the elegance of a symphony, the majesty of an ant's leg, or the perfection of a flash of light. It's not the object that counts; it's how we look at it and the space we give to the moment. Psychologist Dacher Keltner, director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, has spent years studying the beneficial effects of wonder on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being: "It makes us curious rather than judgmental. It makes us collaborative. It makes us humble, sharing, and altruistic. It calms the ego and stops us from constantly thinking about ourselves. It also calms the brain's default mode network and has been shown to reduce inflammation. In other words, don't underestimate the power of wonder."

But how do we find it? How do we make sure we don't let it fade away? How do we ensure that we don't get caught up in cynicism, anxiety, habit, and the dullness of everyday life? To not be among those who remain indifferent? There is no miracle method except to slow down, conquer this ultimate luxury, this supreme good, and not be constantly in the rush of doing, surrounded by noise and entertainment. "How do you find wonder? You allow yourself unstructured time. You wander. You drift. You walk aimlessly. You go for the mysterious questions rather than the test-based answers," explains Keltner.

That's why wonder is a political, educational, and human issue—the last star before the void.

I wish you goosebumps and breathlessness.

Marie Robert is an author and philosophy teacher. As the head of Montessori schools, she created @philosophyissexy to share her philosophical reflections daily.

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