The Superpower You Forgot You Had: Let’s Talk About Wonder

The Practice of Wonder and Awe

Have you ever paused, like genuinely stopped, faced with something so huge or maybe so intricate that your mind just goes quiet? You know that profound sense of awe, that breathtaking moment when the world seems to just stand still for a second? What happens to that feeling as we, well, as we navigate adulthood? And what if reigniting it could actually change your perspective, make you feel, I don’t know, more connected, kinder, maybe even less weighed down by everyday worries? Welcome to a new Sparkcast from English Plus Podcast. You’re tuned in to the Deep Dive. This is where we take fascinating ideas, pull out the really important bits from our research and sort of unpack them so you can get right to the core of what matters.

Today, we’re diving deep into something incredibly human, but often kind of elusive, the whole concept of wonder and awe. We’ll explore not just what it is, but maybe why it seems to fade for so many of us as we get older, and crucially, how we can invite it back into our everyday lives. It is quite fascinating, isn’t it? How something so, I mean, so fundamental to being human, especially as kids, often gets pushed aside by our busy, you know, sensible adult lives.

We’ll connect the dots here on its surprisingly strong psychological and even neurological benefits. It’ll show you just how impactful these seemingly small moments of wonder can actually be for our well-being. Okay, so let’s unpack this a bit.

We often use words like wonder and curiosity almost, interchangeably, right? But our Deep Dive suggests there’s a really clear difference. Curiosity is, well, it’s about wanting an answer, filling an information gap. It’s the what or how.

So if that’s curiosity, what exactly is wonder then? Yeah, that’s a really important distinction to make. Wonder is, it’s something else. It’s that profound state, kind of cognitive and emotional, that you hit when you encounter something so vast or complex or maybe just new that your existing mental maps just can’t immediately process it.

It’s not just about wanting to find out why. It’s the feeling itself, that humbling awe, maybe standing at the Grand Canyon or, you know, the reverence you might feel listening to a really powerful piece of music or even just being totally fascinated watching ants work together, that perfect unison. In that moment, your sense of self, your ego, it tends to shrink a bit and your connection to the world or something bigger than you expands a lot.

Right. And what’s really grabbing me here is that this isn’t just, like, poetic talk. It’s not just a nice feeling.

There are real actual measurable effects happening in our brains and influencing how we act. Oh, absolutely. If we look at the neurology, well, experiencing deep wonder, studies show it can actually decrease activity in the brain’s default mode network, the DMN.

Yeah, the DMN. That’s the part linked to, like, mind wandering and self-focused thoughts, anxiety loops. Exactly.

It’s your brain’s sort of internal narrator, often rehashing worries, thinking about yourself. Ah, seems to disrupt that powerfully. It pulls your attention outwards so strongly that the DMN just quiets down.

It’s like your brain gets a short break from being focused on me, me, me. A mental reset button. Precisely.

And psychologically, this shift isn’t just about feeling good momentarily. The research points to increases in pro-social behaviors, things like generosity, kindness, feeling connected to others. It really can make our own problems feel less overwhelming because we get the sense of being part of something much, much larger.

Okay. So if wonder is this amazing beneficial thing, why did it seem to fade for so many of us as adults? It feels like we lose something important along the way. Our exploration pointed to a few key things that seem to, well, steal our sense of awe.

Yeah. One of the biggest culprits is definitely routine. As we get older, our lives tend to become more predictable.

Same routes to work, same people, same habits, day in, day out. And while that predictability can feel safe or efficient, it also shields us. It shields us from the unexpected, the novel, the very things that often spark wonder.

Yeah, that makes sense. And another huge one seems to be information overload. I mean, think about it.

We carry the answer to almost any question right here in our pocket. See a weird bird, boom, instant look up, name, species, facts, categorized, done. Right.

And while that’s useful sometimes, doesn’t it kind of short circuit the mystery that pure, simple, wow, what is that feeling gets replaced instantly with, oh, it’s that. It swaps the off for the answer almost too quick. Exactly.

And then there’s perhaps more subtly cynicism or maybe just critical thinking taken a bit too far. We’re often taught, especially as adults, to be critical, to analyze, to deconstruct everything, which is valuable, of course. But sometimes that focus on knowing and analyzing can overshadow the ability to simply appreciate something, to just experience it without judgment, to just be amazed.

So putting that together, it sounds like the world we’ve built, while super efficient and knowledgeable in many ways, might be accidentally making it harder to experience awe. Not because the wonder isn’t there, but because our attention is just cluttered. Exactly.

But the good news, and this is really key. Yes. Wonder isn’t some rare commodity you have to hunt down.

It’s actually everywhere all the time. Okay. So how do we tap into it? How do we retrain our attention? Well, the material we looked at offers some really practical starting points.

One idea is to go small, like literally get a magnifying glass or just get really close, like at a single flower petal, a tiny insect, maybe frost on a window pane. The sheer complexity, the intricate beauty you find when you zoom in on the miniature world, it can be absolutely staggering if you just pause and really look. I like that.

Or the opposite approach, go big, like intentionally spending time in nature, looking up at the stars properly, away from city lights, or watching a huge thunderstorm roll in, feeling the power, standing by the ocean, allowing yourself to feel small, humbled by the vastness, letting your mind try to grasp that scale. And another really crucial one is to consciously engage your senses. Maybe listen to a piece of music you’ve never heard before, but with your eyes closed, really only focusing on the sound, or when you eat, actually taste your food.

Notice the textures, the different flavors unfolding. Pay close attention to just the physical sensations around you, the breeze, the sun on your skin. It encourages what some call a beginner’s mind.

Ah, the beginner’s mind. That phrase really resonates. It’s like seeing things fresh without all the labels and preconceptions we usually slap on them.

It reminds me of Shoshin in Zen Buddhism, right? Approaching things with openness, like it’s the first time. Exactly. Letting go of what you think you already know.

And that connects directly to what our research highlighted about the scientific mindset, doesn’t it? Because the greatest scientific leaps didn’t start with having all the answers. They started with someone falling in love with a question. Absolutely.

Every big discovery, gravity, evolution. It started with someone looking at something ordinary, something every day, and asking with that beginner’s mind, wait, why? How does that work? Allowing themselves to be utterly amazed by something seemingly obvious. So this really brings up a challenge for everyone listening, right? It does.

In this world we live in, with instant answers, endless distractions pulling at us, how often do you genuinely allow yourself to just be amazed, to just stop and wonder? So here’s a little exercise, a challenge for you today. Find one thing, just one ordinary thing near you right now. Could be a pen, your coffee mug, maybe a plant.

And for just a minute or two, try describing it as if you’re an alien, like you’ve never seen anything like it before. Strip away all your assumptions about what it is or what it’s for. Describe its shape, its texture, its color with completely fresh eyes.

Speculate wildly about its purpose. Express genuine curiosity, maybe even confusion. Yeah, like I’m observing this strange hard cylinder.

It’s white, smooth, has this weird loop on the side. Maybe it holds some kind of energy liquid. Exactly.

Its function is a total mystery. The complexity is astounding. It forces you to ditch the routine way of seeing and look at the familiar with fresh, truly wonderful eyes.

What’s really striking here is just how simple it can be to re-engage with this incredibly beneficial state. The practice of cultivating wonder, of inviting awe, it isn’t really about needing grand, spectacular experiences all the time. It’s more about deliberately training your attention, training it to notice the extraordinary that’s already present in the ordinary moments all around us.

We really hope this deep dive has sparked some, well, some surprising insights for you and maybe given you a few practical tools to actively invite more wonder into your own life. Keep that beginner’s mind switched on. Don’t be afraid to ask why and how about everything.

And just allow yourself consistently to be amazed by this incredible world we’re in. And this was another Sparkcast from English Plus Podcast. Don’t forget to check out the full article on our website, englishpluspodcast.com for more details.

Thank you for listening. Stay curious and never stop learning. We’ll see you in the next episode.