Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Things that make me say “WOW!”

One thing that is so precious about young children is how they often react to new things. Babies will go into peals of laughter at the silliest prompting. Little kids’ eyes will widen and their expression says it all – they’ve seen something new and very cool. I have a picture of my grandson’s face when he was shown his first chocolate bunny. No words needed, he just appeared filled with joy. My daughter was holding him and even her face looked pleasantly surprised. (It’s not just confined to people, however. I can show Mollie Dog one of her treats and she will turn herself inside out with happiness. Somehow she manages to smile.)

I know that Facebook has it controversial swirls going on. But I go there every morning to see how my friends are doing and what they are posting. Over the years I have signed up to follow certain pages. I think my all-time favorite is David Attenborough’s post. Invariably he sponsors pictures of this amazing earth and her creatures and features. Often, coming across a picture of his, I give a little gasp, smile broadly, and say, Wow! 

Sir David Attenborough will be 99 years old this May. I think he is a true renaissance man, given all his talents. He is a writer, biologist, natural history expert, broadcaster, film maker, and a graduate of the London School of Economics. You have to be pretty damn smart to excel in all these categories. He has won numerous awards. He is an environmental protection champion, particularly emphasizing the importance of biodiversity on the quality of life on our planet. I can only imagine how many places on this earth he has visited, photographed, and created special broadcasts about the wonders he’s witnessed. 

I recently watched one of his films about hummingbirds, “Hummingbirds: Jeweled Messengers”. He narrated a beautiful and fast-moving epic. To capture these tiny creatures in flight they had to use slow motion photography. These little birds have the highest metabolic rate, fastest heart beat and most rapid wing beat in the whole bird world. They evolved to feed from flowers, thus pollinating their little kitchens to create more of them. As I watched I felt such deep respect for the elegant design of our planet. Don’t know how many times a “Wow!” erupted, but there were quite a lot of them. 

There is a magazine called “Mindful”. What follows is from an article entitled “The Science of Wonder”: “Awe is the emotion that arises when we encounter vast mysteries that transcend out understanding of the world. My research from 26 cultures shows that people find awe in the ‘eight wonders of life’, which are: the moral beauty of others, collective movement, nature, visual design, music, spirituality, big ideas, and encountering the beginning and end of life.” (Mindful, Author Dacher Keltner, February 16, 2023).

So, here I am at age 75, still able to react like a surprised child impressed by something brand new. I am grateful to carry a wellspring of amazement and delight. Even if I start the day worried about our Democracy and feeling a bit downtrodden, a photograph of some exotic animal or fascinating geography will remind me that this planet is a cauldron of miracles. 

Outside of my window the birds of our neighborhood are lined up on the fence rail, waiting for breakfast to be served. We are delighting in our photographic feeder. Yesterday there was a picture of a little bird’s butt, mooning the camera. There’s one in every crowd.