Lots of things fill me with wonder. Words, for instance. I saw a guy silhouetted in a window this morning and found myself thinking of the word "silhouette", one of my favourites. I suppose the wonder of words boils down to the wonder of consciousness. But I don't want to boil it down, particularly.
Candlelight fills me with wonder. Eyes. Memory. Stories and storytelling. Playing cards. Books.
Wonder is a funny thing. It doesn't mean curiosity and it doesn't mean surprise. It's hard to "cash out" analytically. I mean, given the existence of a world, it had to be one way rather than another. It's hard to see why billions of galaxies are more wonderful than five.
Anyway, what fills you with wonder? I'm interested.
Wonder is, I suppose, 'good awe'. The kind of sublime that doesn't fill you with dread.
ReplyDeleteMusic fills me with wonder. The sea. Church buildings — certain cadences of verse — beauty, in short; in music, in art, and human beauty. The moon and the stars if I look at them for long enough. Rare and remarkable heirlooms, like the Codex Siniaticus or the St. Cuthbert's Gospel or the Alfred Jewel, or even Mitchell & Kenyon's old films of northern England in the 1900s.
Interesting list, thank you so much! Beauty does indeed a reliable source of awe. I also feel awe when it comes to artefacts, especially unique manuscripts. Mitchelle and Kenyon is a very original addition-- I'm afraid when I watched their footage of old Dublin I very quickly grew bored!
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