“The Presence of Wonder”

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Westlake Village CA
March 26, 2016

by Rich Scheck

Here is a powerful invitation from author E. B. White: “Always be on the lookout for
the presence of wonder!”

I love it; in fact that phrase captures the secret of how I transformed myself from
an irritable contrarian into a far happier recovering grouch.

Yup: everywhere I go and in every situation, I look for the positive, the upside, the
lesson to be learned—especially if I am out of my comfort zone—and the inevitable
“presence of wonder.”

Trust me, it is there if you are willing to be open to seeing it. A simple example from
yesterday: I needed a minor repair on my car and went to a mechanic recommended
by a friend. The fellow was unfriendly, impatient and very expensive. Instead of getting
surly and reactive, I went next door to his competitor who did it for free…..in 5 minutes!

The young guy who volunteered to help me without a fuss and with a smile now has
a few more pennies in his pocket because of it and we both feel WONDERful!

Other examples abound: look to nature for the true wonder of the Creation: the shape
of the trees and colors of the flowers; the sound of the ocean and the graceful flight
of the birds overhead; the delightful manner of attractive people or the silliness of the
young as they find joy in the smallest things.

All the trite stuff the poets never tire of writing about because it is full of wonder.

It is all there to observe and appreciate. Terrence Malick was able to capture this in his
complex film from 2012, To The Wonder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-t3l6T53V8

Yes, the wonder of it all: thank you, thank you, thank you!