This line from Maria Popova is engrained in my head now

“How awake are we, really, when we’ve stopped bowling over in awe at the everyday miracle of clouds? Or the unexpected glory of wildflowers on the city sidewalk?”

There's a concept called Shōshin in Zen philosophy, seemingly related to this childlike joy and wonder; it talks of letting go of preconceptions and for people to become open and eager, as a beginner would be.

Becoming adults we tend to see things in a different light from children would; we would see things as how we think of them, with our past experiences, rather than for what they are.

So with shōshin, normal, usual, mundane things or events can even seem to be wonderful, new and interesting. It's not that difficult to change a little of one's mindset bit by bit, and things will start to change in a bigger scale.

I thinks its more of relearning how to appreciate amd find joy again. For me it also helps to stay away from negative social media and surrounding myself with friends or people who vibe that way. Exercise helps.

You grow up and realize life stinks.

Wow that middle part is well said, I never thought I’d it like that

I’m going to read into that concept/idea

Thanks for sharing! 😄

I’ve noticed the same thing with who you surround yourself vastly changing how you look at the world

That’s a good reminder to foster that type of social circle

Thanks for this 🙌

The difference between childhood and adulthood is familiarity with the world. Another way of saying this is that things get boring, old, and you become jaded and cynical. You're supposed to be exposed to "the sublime" once a day to combat this. Look at the universe overhead every night and wonder what the hell this is really all about. No one can tell you and you will never know, only wonder.

Well it may be gone and few things will cause such a reaction again. Personally it's rare so I replaced the feeling instead with one that is easy to recreate. When looking at a cloud as a kid I'd look at them in woder, now I look at things and feel a joy in the beauty of it.

As biggie said "spread love its the brooklyn way"🤣🤣🤣

Damn that was really said

I like that perspective a lot—the Birds Eye view definitely brings a lot of wonder

Thanks for sharing this!

No problem.

This. And a great kids book reminds us to stop and smell the roses. We usually are in such a hurry to go from one thing to the next to the next, which is really easy to do with work and kids. One way to combat this is to schedule your own time. Maybe it is a gym session on your lunch break or on your way home. Maybe it is getting up 30 min early and using that time to meditate or plan out and organize your day.

My kid wanted to play, so he grabbed a toy sword and a bow and arrow. We went outside to fight the bad guys. I thought as a grown man I haven't pretended to play in 20 years. It was wonderful to be a child again. He tells me things all the time that my robot brain tells me that can't happen or be. I am learning to let it go and enjoy the fun again. My suggestion is to be around some kids. They know how to have fun.

The world still amazes me, even the seemingly mundane. It’s people that break my spirit. What people prioritize as important in their life as they get older just bums the hell out of me. I often feel very alone even though I’m around my family most of the time.

Dinosaurs

I felt the same way, but now I see it in my toddler son and I feel it again. No, it’s not as strong and doesn’t last as long, but every once in a while, I get that feeling like a flicker of a flame and I feel pure joy again.

You can work every day on finding the amazing. Just look for it. Humans are good at finding what they look for, so you just have to train yourself to look for it.

Ty for taking the time sharing this

Wow that definitely makes sense

I feel that when I’m with my younger cousins and spending time with them definitively feels like I’m spending hours in a world that’s not mine

Thanks for reminding about that perspective!!

Wow that definitely has merit! The people in my life have a huge impact on how I see and experience the world

Lately I’ve been curating my social groups more intentionally

Thanks for sharing this!

That’s amazing to hear! I’m sure spending time in their world is so refreshing! 😁😁

Slowly starting to realize that after reading about this topic! Also strangely started getting that “skill” back after reading classic children’s book from the 70s haha

Thanks for the insight 😄

Do mushrooms

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

White people problems?

Hey this is silly but you know what helps me keep my Joy and wonder!? Watch Seinfeld!!! No joke but all his classic “do you ever notice…” jokes about regular day occurrence have me seeing all the comedy ind funny wonderful things in life. If you take it and put it into your life- I swear it makes the whole world a funny and interesting place.

We have some old abandoned train tunnels with graffiti out the back. I had to convince my son to get off the gaming console and come out for a walk with me.

First word out of my mouth when we saw those tunnels was "goblinsssss!"

It's amazing how just a tiny little word like that can make someone annoy you to going for walks every day

There comes a point when you realize that you are the only thing that keeps you from wonder. Your frustrations, your inner criticism, your unhappiness. It all comes back when you decide to stop letting it block that wonder from you. Yes, things are still frustrating, yes, things are still very very bad...for many reasons we accept that this is true..but, for each reason the world makes me sad, I think of the valiant souls who keep trying to make wonder. They do it to help. They do it to bring the light. So, my mission is to live each day like it's got something joyous waiting for me to find it. I seek it like others seek money. I remind myself that there are people , who have passed away, who would give anything to live just one more day I consider mundane.... because none of it is..nothing is mundane. It's life and living. Bad things are still you living. It's you learning and adjusting. Becoming aware of your own capabilities and your own will. You learn you can rebuild yourself because you had to..you know where each piece of you goes..and when that bad thing passes, you know you survived it because of yourself and the love that makes you keep fighting. Stop thinking that bad things mean there is no wonder...wonder comes from seeking the light, even as the dark stands over your shoulder.. because those that seek the light aren't unaware that darkness exists. They shine brightly because they know it does..and that light is what my makes the dark bearable. The stars are soo beautiful. The moon like a goddess in the sky and us? We are just children learning how to tend our hearts. Wonder is alive and swift...it passes very quickly but, omg..how lovely it is to remember. Human beings have a strange ability to relive moments that feel just as emotionally impactful as the moment we lived it. The reason for that, is that if we remember joy..we never forget how to recreate it.

Michael Pollan's "How to Change Your Mind" helped me understand the science behind what you describe and what I can deeply relate to... and meditation (and yes, microdosing) has definitely sparked my awe/love/joy of life again.

I have also never enjoyed reading more than now and "A Short History of Nearly Everything" was my portal back into awe.

Working full time kills this

Hi, so this is a little bit different, but has your eyesight gotten worse over the years? I am currently consulting a clinic for LASIK surgery and they gave me a pair of contacts to wear in the meanwhile, to see how it would feel after the surgery.

I thought I had decent eyesight before, but boy was I wrong. Everything is more colourful and bright, people are more noticeable. I am spotting animals in my neighbourhood for the first time ever. It makes me more energetic and curious... like a kid!

So yeah, I agree with all advice about having the right headspace, but if you can afford it - invest in your eyes.

Thank you for posting this! I’ve been in the dumps and have been thinking about the same thing for a few days and this and the replies have given me a few ideas.

not working also kills this

Why do the things that blow your mind have to be simple? You’re brain is more developed now so things that are more complex can blow your mind, because now you can comprehend them. And just like these “complex” things can still blow our minds, they would be mundane to a more intelligent race. It’s not about losing your childlike wonderment. It’s about finding things that you can chase the same type of feeling with your more developed sense of the world.

Ah. In my 30s, unfortunately I don’t have any younglings around to teach me these things. My little nephew isn’t talking yet, and aside from squirrels & random kids you see on the street I’m mostly surrounded by old or elderly.

Sometimes I talk to ppl on the phone with kids. I don’t know how parents manage it. I’m good for short bursts but an extended period of time is unimaginable to me.

Just sharing a story about the pennies. Years ago I started hanging out with (now) one of my closest friends. I’m a city kid through and through. He grew up in a small town in NC.

We were walking in Manhattan, me trying to go my brisker NY pace but he kept stopping and kneeling down - to tie his shoe?

Turns out he was turning over pennies so they were face up so the next person would get some good luck.

There’s a great toy called Rory’s Story Cubes. They are nine dice with pictures on them. The way we play with these (my kid was 4) is to throw all 9 dice. Then I would casually guide the story with the kid making all the decisions.

I would ask where the story takes place and the kid would choose one of the images - say a fountain. I’d ask is the fountain in a park or in front of a house/building. I might follow up with “do you know of a park with a fountain?” While I might be thinking of an ornate sculpture, the kid might reply with the water fountain at the park.

Then I would ask who the story is about, with follow up questions about the subject’s demeanor or name. I would stop occasionally to see if the kid can recap our decisions.

Kids are remarkably fascinating. They are smarter than they appear. They often understand more than their vocabulary allows them to describe what they know.

do you think they disappeared because of what you started to bring your focus to afterwards? anything stressful?

My kids helped me find the movie Hook(Robin Williams is so good)again, which I loved when I was a kid. Watch some movies or books with imagination in it. The original Pete the Dragon is really good, too. My wife and I have discussed how most children's books nowadays lack the imagination and the pretend world. Go watch a play or do an art session. It makes you be creative.Good luck on your journey to wherever it may lead you.

Childlike wonder is built on the bedrock of ignorance.
The more you learn about something the more you develop an opinion and create friction with your own view points. Then when you see something familiar but slightly different the friction creates a voiced opinion that seems like jaded cynicism. However that friction is where creativity lives. You need to take that friction and create, help the world be better for the next generation as they gaze in awe and childlike wonder at your creations.
Recognize your mortality and grow, don’t shy away from it.

Anyone advocating for child like wonder as an adult by looking deeper and not seeing the bigger picture is advocating for mindless consumerism. Don’t shy away from reality because it is difficult.

I think a huge part of this is the fact that as kids we had time, we weren't busy studying or working or doing anything "important" with our lives so we had the time to look around us and notice the little impressive things in the world, as adults we're always busy doing something. I think you can try to get better at noticing these things if you make it a priority and I don't mean that you have to prioritize it over work for example, but prioritize looking around you over, let's say, checking your phone. Basically try to find the time in your day, it will only take a few minutes of your day and the more you do it the more natural it becomes

It’s mostly my fault for focusing on the negative adult behavior. Life is always what you make of it.

Disclaimer: Drugs are illegal and bad.

My friend informs me that LSD helps people see things as if they were new. “Hey man, have you ever really looked at a towel?”

Break it all down, this reality is more amazing than you’d think, and that’s not even going into detail about all the other realities we can visit as the construct of soul if we’ve got compatible vessels there.

Careful with that, the construct of belief is protecting you as much as it is a detriment. They call it blissful ignorance for a reason.

I think it’s too easy to be distracted by other things as an adult. Instead of taking the time to watch the world happen, we know we can pick up our phones and have instant stimulation.

Just do a day of shrooms or LSD, you will definitely get back in touch with the childlike wonder.

Start playing role-playing games. Maybe D&D

[deleted]

Just be a kid again! It’s all in your head ;)

Hahaa that’s an unexpected but likely accurate response

The “do you ever notice” jokes probably make your brain do pattern recognition in real life to find those fun things as often as it can

Thanks for sharing that 😄

Damn hahaaa I love that so much 😂

It’s such a small thing that’s easy to pass of as silly, but that little act definitely keeps the mood light and the spirits fun

So happy this post could be a lighthouse of inspiration for you 😁

Good luck!!

Wow I think this holds a lot of merit

I think I can definitely still find a ways to find joy and wonder in the simple things, but you’re right about my brain being more complex so it taking more complex things to get mind blow

It only makes sense that as my brain scaled the threshold for awe increased too

Thanks for this insight 😄

It’s such a small and simple act but it reveals so much about what is great about this guy.

Absolutely! I feel like I went through something similar recently. Oddly enough, I started to feel that same sense of wonderment delving into litigation of esports and the video game industry (I’m a lawyer) but currently practice in a field in which I have no interest. Keep that inner sense of wonder alive brother!

Microdosing for the win