In 2007, Joshua Bell, one of the top concert violists in the World, took part in a social experiment in a metro station in Washington. He swapped his suit for jeans and a baseball cap and, instead of being on a stage, played his 3.5 million dollar Stradivarius for free as a busker. Just 2 days before, he had played in a sold out theatre where the merely ‘pretty good’ tickets had cost $100 each.

1097 people walked past him on that day, but only 7 paused a while to listen. Of the 1097 people there that day – 1090 missed the wonder – they missed the wow moment!

Interestingly, an article written describing the experiment noted that,

‘Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.’

[Read full article here]

Wired for Wonder

Children are often much better at noticing and having their attention drawn to the wonder that surrounds them, aren’t they?! If you’ve ever walked along with a young child you’ll know how long a simple journey can take – woah – a butterfly – oh look at that caterpillar! They are so wired for wonder – that was us at one time. What happens to us? When do we start to filter out the wonder?

Pablo Picasso once said that ‘Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up.’

How present are we in our day to day life? Do we notice the wow wonder that surrounds us? Or do we walk past too quickly – our head too full of other things that we let it crowd out the beauty that God is drawing our attention to each day?

The famous story of God talking to Moses through the burning bush is full of Wonder – you can check it out in Exodus 3.

Moses is out in the middle of nowhere, looking after his father in law’s sheep when he sees a bush on fire – but he notices that it isn’t burning up.

‘ Moses said, “what’s going on here?”’ (v3a MSG)

Right at the start of the story Moses brings a curiosity to what he has noticed as he wonders HOW?

God is trying to catch Moses attention and, once Moses notices, his curiosity deepens into wonder as his HOW? becomes a WOW!

‘I can’t believe this! Amazing!’

Curiosity and Wonder. Moses had probably not set out to meet with God that day – he was just out shepherding – getting on with his day to day life. But he Walked with Wonder and because he was present enough to notice and bring curiosity he created opportunity for encounter. How often do we miss what God is drawing our attention to because we are too busy to notice the wonder!

Moses walked with Wonder and his Curiosity created opportunity for Encounter

And once God has Moses attention, He calls out to Him. 

V4 – ‘God saw that he had stopped to look. God called out to him from the bush, Moses! Moses!’. 

And God says, don’t come any closer, this is holy ground. 

Moses has made space to encounter the Wonder of a wonderful God. His HOW? deepens into a WOW! which, in turn, becomes a BOW of awe and wonder as he meets with his creator God.

Moses has made space to encounter the Wonder of a wonderful God. His HOW? deepens into a WOW! which, in turn, becomes a BOW of awe and wonder as he meets with his creator God.

Are we present enough as we approach our day to notice when God is calling to us? Do we bring curiosity and allow it to grow into wonder? What do we do then to set apart that moment – to submit to the holiness of God and approach His presence?

Our third rhythm of Living Well is to Walk with Wonder. For me, I have recognised that far too often the pace I set in life is more of a dash than a walk as I rush through my day from one activity to the next, head down and absorbed in my own thoughts – rarely making space to notice the wonder that surrounds me.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a Victorian Era Poet, once wrote:

‘Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush a fire with God. But only he who sees it takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.’ 

What does it look like for you to Walk with Wonder?

…to notice as God tries to get your attention, and bring curiosity to ask ‘How?’

…to allow that then to deepen into Wonder as you breathe ‘Wow!’

…to make space for encounter as, with wonder, you ‘Bow’ in His presence

Intentionally reflecting on the moments in our day when we have glimpsed wonder can help us become more present and aware of the wonder that surrounds us. I’ve created a quick reflection tool called A How, A Wow and a Bow. You might like to use it as a conversation starter during a family dinner – or perhaps simply make space each day for a cuppa and to sit and reflect.