Shop
About
Posts
Joycast
Booking
Speaking
Write Brilliant
Contact

This Time of Year We’re Reminded “It’s a Wonder-Filled Life” @StrategicMonk

by | 62 comments

Let me introduce you to my friend, Greg Richardson. Greg is a spiritual mentor, and executive and organizational coach, in Pasadena, California. Greg has served as a criminal prosecutor, an executive, and a university professor. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com. You can follow Greg on Twitter at @StrategicMonk, and his Facebook page is strategicmonk.com.

Throughout this year, I want to introduce you to some of my friends. People whose voices I know, respect, and appreciate. Their words often challenge me in my thinking and faith. I hope they’ll challenge you, too. Enjoy!

wonder

I am learning to recognize the Wonder of the Sacred in unexpected ways.

There have been times when I expected to find wonder in intense emotions. If it is wonder, then it must be pretty dramatic, right? Weeks or months would pass without the jolt of recognition. I would be convinced that either I had missed it, or I was living a life without wonder. If there were no emotional fireworks, no thunder and lightning, then no wonder.

There have also been times when I expected to find wonder through focused analysis. Sacred wonder may not be an experience of the heart, but of the mind. If I could work it out intellectually, searching for deep truths by weighing the evidence and measuring accurately. I found some complex, serious questions that I could not work out to my own satisfaction. Again, I came to see that I must be missing something.

Slowly but surely, over some time, I came to appreciate that filling my life with wonder was not a project I had undertaken. It was not something that I needed to, or even could, deserve. It was not my task to collect all the amazing emotions or insightful intellectual discoveries that I could carry. The Wonder of the Sacred was not something I could accumulate, manipulate, or control.

I slowly learned to stop trying. I came to see that all my effort and all my ability did not bring me closer to the wonder I desperately wanted. There was no point in trying to hoard what I found; the best thing I could do was release my grip and let go.

As I began to slow down and stop trying to control the wonder, I found that I could breathe again. I could breathe deeply and become aware of the people and things around me in new ways. It was not that my emotions or my intellect were bad or sinful; I was being drawn to something deeper. It was amazing!

The Wonder of the Sacred was more intimately with me than I had ever imagined. It is in the trees and the sky and the faces that I see every day. It is in the words of Scripture, and in the silent solitude of listening and waiting. It is all around me, and it is within me.

I continue to grow and learn by slowing down and letting go. There are untold depths, and untold wonder, to be explored. I think I am making a good beginning, and the wonder will always be beyond my ability to measure and understand.

Indeed, “It’s a wonder-filled life”–not just during the holiday season but throughout the year.

*Original photo found here

62 Comments

  1. Karen
    Karen on December 12, 2012 at 4:12 pm

    Thanks for a timely reminder. Loose hands, a quiet heart, and patience are the keys to encountering God. Oh and breathing helps. Been forgetting to do that as I race after “wonder”….

  2. Margaret
    Margaret on December 14, 2012 at 10:37 am

    Karen, so easy to do in this holiday season!

  3. JeromeLix
    JeromeLix on March 21, 2025 at 10:36 am

    alo789in: alo789 – alo789hk

  4. MonteKit
    MonteKit on March 24, 2025 at 4:20 am

    mexican pharmacy online order Mexican Pharm Inter buying from online mexican pharmacy

  7. ArthurHathy
    ArthurHathy on March 24, 2025 at 9:50 am

    https://indiamedfast.com/# cheapest online pharmacy india
    best canadian pharmacy online

  23. Jamesgaf
    Jamesgaf on March 25, 2025 at 4:01 pm

    online pharmacy india: online pharmacy india – cheapest online pharmacy india

  26. MonteKit
    MonteKit on March 25, 2025 at 11:01 pm

    MexicanPharmInter Mexican Pharm Inter MexicanPharmInter

  29. GregoryVar
    GregoryVar on March 26, 2025 at 1:53 am

    kamagra jelly kopen: KamagraKopen.pro – Kamagra Kopen Online

  32. GregoryVar
    GregoryVar on March 26, 2025 at 7:54 am

    Generic100mgEasy: Generic100mgEasy – buy generic 100mg viagra online

  33. Williamheirl
    Williamheirl on March 26, 2025 at 8:04 am

    Generic100mgEasy: Generic100mgEasy – Generic100mgEasy

  34. Dwaynejures
    Dwaynejures on March 26, 2025 at 9:28 am

    cialis without a doctor prescription buy cialis pill cialis without a doctor prescription

  38. Williamheirl
    Williamheirl on March 26, 2025 at 3:14 pm

    cialis without a doctor prescription: п»їcialis generic – cialis without a doctor prescription

  46. GregoryVar
    GregoryVar on March 27, 2025 at 3:29 am

    Generic Cialis price: Tadalafil Easy Buy – Cialis over the counter

  51. GregoryVar
    GregoryVar on March 27, 2025 at 11:14 am

    Generic100mgEasy: Generic 100mg Easy – Generic100mgEasy

  54. Williamheirl
    Williamheirl on March 27, 2025 at 4:03 pm

    Kamagra Kopen: kamagra 100mg kopen – KamagraKopen.pro

  55. Dwaynejures
    Dwaynejures on March 27, 2025 at 6:01 pm

    kamagra pillen kopen Kamagra Kopen Online kamagra kopen nederland

  56. GregoryVar
    GregoryVar on March 27, 2025 at 6:25 pm

    Cialis 20mg price in USA: TadalafilEasyBuy.com – Tadalafil Easy Buy

  59. GregoryVar
    GregoryVar on March 28, 2025 at 1:36 am

    Kamagra Kopen Online: kamagra pillen kopen – Kamagra Kopen

  62. Dwaynejures
    Dwaynejures on March 28, 2025 at 5:30 am

    KamagraKopen.pro kamagra 100mg kopen kamagra pillen kopen

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *