“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.” — Rachel Carson
After the basic needs are met, I can think of little that is more important in the upbringing of a child than cultivating a sense of wonder.
When I see adults who have bright and twinkling eyes, who are forever learning new things, who are inquisitive and gentle about the natural world, who have the grit and spirit to take risks, who are not afraid to cry, who take responsibility for their own actions, who believe one way or another in magic and worlds they cannot see, then I know they were loved as children.
Where there is creativity and an infinite ability to dream, there is hope. As a father, I could do no better than teach the joy of an open mind; as a writer I could do no less than write it and live it.
BOOK REVIEW COMING SOON
I’m currently reading a wonderful and well written novel by Fairlee Winfield called “Buffaloed.” In a word: it’s a hoot. It shows the West like it was rather than like it was idealized to be. And, one of the main characters is none other than Montana’s best artist: Charlie Russell.
It is one of the tragedies of life when someone loses that sense of wonder, and one of the blessings if he doesn’t.
Life seems so empty and boring without that sense of wonder, I would think those who lose that sense would be continually looking for it.