This morning, as I was driving to my morning Rotary meeting, I was marveling at the beauty of the sunrise. There were a few clouds that were beautifully illuminated by the rising sun. I said “wow” as I marveled at the sunset. Actually, I say wow more often to beautiful events coming my way.
Then I got to thinking: How often do we say “wow”? How often do we take things for granted or don’t even notice them? Have we forgotten to be amazed and to be full of wonder? Often the answer is “yes.”
We are often so busy working in the trenches of our lives we can get into a rut. The word “wow” is a way to disrupt that. It disrupts the status quo of our lives.
There are so many things that you can say “wow” about:
- Wow, this is a beautiful sunrise
- Wow, my husband cooked a fantastic meal
- Wow, our 13-year-old son suddenly gave us a gratitude letter
- Wow, that was a great hug
- Wow, I appreciate being part of this thriving, heart-centered Rotary club
- Wow, we live in a beautiful place. Look at that squirrel, those trees, the light shimmering in the pool, …
These are examples of “wow” moments we can choose to notice in our daily lives – or we can ignore them.
Marvel At The Transformation of Our Lives
We could go even further. We could say “Wow, how our lives have transformed a lot over the last 100 years or even 50 years.” I watched the show “The food that built America” and “Machines that built America.” Both are on the History channel. I highly recommend you take a look at these two shows.
Many things that we take for granted now were invented not that long ago.
- Now we have artificial intelligence, machine learning, Virtual Reality (VR), and all kinds of wondrous things around us.
- We can replace a growing number of body parts and do medical procedures that should floor us in amazement by all rational thought.
- Our ability to produce videos, blogs, training materials, express our thoughts and share them with others – all that has been thoroughly transformed.
- There is Space X.
- Jeff Bezo’s rocket “Blue Origin” recently took William Shatner into space. He returned with a big “wow” about space and about how special our earth is.
The list goes on and on. Sure, not all transformation is for the better. If you had the choice to live now or 50-200 years ago, which one would you pick?
How Often Do We Say “Wow”?
How often do we say “wow”? And how often do we take it for granted?
As I’m thinking about this topic more. I realize there’s also another kind of “wow.”
For example,
- Wow, I can’t believe that so many people can’t read read, even in this country.
- I can’t believe that there are hungry kids in our very own community.
Again, there are many possible “wow” moments in this category, too.
Saying “Wow” is Like Waking Up
When we say “wow,” we wake up. Let me speak for myself.
- I wake up to the things that are wondrous around me. It causes me to appreciate my life more.
- I also wake up to something around which I need to have awareness. I’m confident I can have some impact on some of them.
I think it is a good idea to say “wow” at least once a day. Wow, that is a bold idea?!? 🙂
I’m Curious
When last have you said “wow,” and what makes you say wow?
