Astonishment

I want to share something with you I wrote a month or so ago as it sums up much about my art, my way of seeing, my spirituality:

A friend recently asked me, "Bruce, where do you find inspiration? The easy answer---the brief answer-- would be to say, "I find inspiration everywhere and in everything." But the more I thought about this today, I more I thought the question better answered might be: "Why do you find inspiration?" Some of what follows draws upon letters and entries I have written before, but this time, to answer the above question.

In his celebrated book, The Pursuit of Wow, which talked about stepping out (individuals at all levels in business--in LIFE) and standing out (corporations and other organizations) from the growing crowd of look-alikes, Tom Peters wrote:

Work and business can be creative and exciting. A hoot. A growth experience. A journey of lifelong learning and constant surprise. But, to be honest, I think such rewards will only be yours if you learn to approach your career and enterprise with the strategy I call......The pursuit of wow!

The pursuit of wow. Is this not what I find all day; every day; everywhere I turn and see?

To be astonished!

Tielhard de Chardin wrote:

Seeing: We might say that the whole of life lies in that verb - if not ultimately, at least essentially.

William Blake called this wow or illumination the Apocalyptic moment. For Blake, the apocalyptic moment was personal and could happen at any time evil is recognized. Revelation and Judgment are internal affairs of the spirit, arising from a clearing of the senses which the artist, by virtue of his imaginative genius, can promote. The true artist then has a social role bordering on the religious. Final Revelation will be "seen by the Imaginative Eye of Every one according to the Situation he holds" and the Last Judgment will happen "whenever any Individual Rejects Error & Embraces Truth."

Maybe we should call it an Epiphany. And, then how is it is possible for us to see/experience an "epiphany" all the time. I think we can find, see, and experience an epiphany in the richness of the ordinary day. To see. To be astonished. To embrace truth.

Often, I ask myself "what am I called to do" and "how can I make the world a better place." To paraphrase Rumi; I remind myself: you need to be permanently astonished--this is the real work of religion. Maybe of art. The second thing you need is love; draw upon love for energy. And the third thing is sacrifice--give the drop that is ourselves; we are given an ocean. To be astonished, to become more like a child, gifts are all around us, be nourished by being amazed--it is a great thing to be alive.

Simone Weil said: "Absolute attention is prayer." Seeing. Astonishment. Prayer.

We design the world by the way we choose to see it! Yes; I choose to see beauty and to share that wonder, that astonishment with all.

I am reminded of a speech I wrote and delivered to 300+ people from the magazine industry a few years ago at a Holiday Luncheon in New York City:

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON IS AN AWESOME TIME OF YEAR...
A TIME FOR LOOKING FOR THE BEST IN OTHERS...
A TIME FOR JOY IN BRIGHTENING OTHER LIVES WITH GENEROUS GIFTS.
TWO YEARS AGO I SHARED WITH YOU SOME COMMENTS FROM CHILDREN
ABOUT WHAT THEY LEARNED IN LIFE. AND THIS YEAR,
WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT THE HOLIDAY SEASON,
IS SEEING THE HOLIDAYS THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDREN,
FOR AS WE GET OLDER
WE SOMETIMES GROW NUMB TO THE JOY.
THIS YEAR, I AM REMINDED EVEN MORE THAN EVER
THAT THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS ABOUT MUSIC, LIFE, AND LOVE.
AND IN KEEPING WITH THE TRADITION STARTED THEN TWO YEARS AGO
I AM TODAY REMINDED WHAT CHILDREN RECENTLY SAID
WHEN ASKED THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT LOVE.
ONE CHILD, AGE 6, SAID
I'M IN FAVOR OF LOVE AS LONG
AS IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WHEN THE SIMPSONS IS ON TV.'
ANOTHER, AGE 7, SAID
'IF FALLING IN LOVE IS ANYTHING LIKE LEARNING HOW TO SPELL,
I DON'T WANT TO DO IT.'
AND FINALLY, ONE CHILD SAID
'I THINK YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GET SHOT WITH AN ARROW OR SOMETHING
BUT THE REST OF IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE SO PAINFUL.'
LOOKING OUT AT YOU NOW I AM LASTLY REMINDED
HOW THERE ARE TIMES IN OUR LIVES AS FRIENDS
WHEN NOTHING MATTERS BUT CELEBRATION....
I HOPE TODAY IS SUCH A DAY FOR YOU
AND I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH ONE FINAL THOUGHT;
IT IS, I BELIEVE,
VERY IMPORTANT TO STOP AND EMBRACE
THE SPECIAL EVENTS THAT MARK OUR LIVES...
NOT THE SECONDS, MINUTES, HOURS..
BUT THE OCCASIONS, BOTH SMALL AND LARGE,
OF GREAT REJOICING...THE SMILE OF A CHILD,
A TEENAGER'S LAUGHTER,
SNOWMEN MADE FROM MARSHMALLOWS,
THE MORNING SKY, MIGRATING GEESE,
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS,
THE MOVIE IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE,
SNOWBALL FIGHTS, A BABY CRYING,
SNOW PILED HIGH, GINGERBREAD HOUSES,
RED RIBBONS AND RED FACES,
SEEING THE TREE IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER,
AGAIN, WATCHING A LOVED ONE SLEEPING,
CHILDREN GIGGLING,
SO MANY TREASURES TO REMEMBER AND TO DISCOVER,
TO GIVE THANKS FOR, LIKE LIFE, LIKE LOVE,
LIKE YOU, HERE WITH US TODAY.
THE GERMAN POET GOETHE SAID
'NOTHING IS WORTH MORE THAN THIS DAY.'
ISN'T THAT THE TRUTH

Of course, our goal is not to change the world all at once, but of reaching out with our eyes wide open--seeing; being astonished; mending the part of he world that is within our reach--to bring light where there is darkness.

As Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes in her book, "Women Who Run With the Wolves:"

Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is
needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take "everyone on Earth" to bring
justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.

William James writes:
To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.

We simply need to be astonished.

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