rooftop

Wonder

I met a person once who changed the way I see the sky. There were galaxies hidden in her eyes for anyone willing to look hard enough. We spoke for hours and hours alone, talking about life and its mysteries and letting the night guide our thoughts. It could've been anything, happy or sad, silly or serious, good or bad, but it was ours.
For that one night, we made it onto the rooftop. She was the oldest soul I've met, and what she taught me has stuck with me for months.

Wonder.

Constant wonder, in all things and all people. Genuine interest in whoever she spoke to and unquenchable curiosity into their perspectives. Her outlook permeated every aspect of her life, and I hope it does the same for me. Wonder is the most beautifully human trait, the most fundamental step towards happiness; it opens the door to a new perspective of the world, one of awe and fascination and passion and deep appreciation. I challenge you to try it. Look away from your phone.
Really.
Stop reading this, look up at the person beside you or out of the nearest window or at the world around you like you've done countless times before, but make this time different. See it, as though it's the first time you've laid eyes upon it. In a way, it is.

Isn't it beautiful?

The order of the universe out of what seemed to be chaos. The nature of the things around us and the awesome majesty of creation. The miracle of the human mind and the power of thought. I could go on for hours about the symmetry and beauty of the human body, even longer on the intricate complexity of our psychology. Everything, from the anatomy and function of our hands to the magic behind the attraction between particles to the mystery of light to the impossibility of the flight of a bumblebee, is beautiful. So look at it.
And then look up. Look at the sky. Be in wonder.
But see even more than that.
Think of a world in which every person had eyes that saw beauty.