The experiences of wonder and awe are our birthright as human beings. We admire these qualities in children and remember during this holiday the “wonder of the season.” Yet, wonder is not limited to one time of life or one season of the year. It is available to us as a quality that can enhance our everyday.

The science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury, said “Stuff your eyes with wonder.” In her timeless book, The Sense of Wonder, environmentalist Rachel Carson reminds us that our very survival may depend upon our cultivating the sense of wonder in children and in ourselves. Even in our Unitarian Universalist Principles we affirm and promote the “direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.”

Sometimes we underestimate the value of wonder and think that is not practical enough for the concerns of our life and world. Yet, wonder may be essential, and need no apology!