I met a wild weasel yesterday. I had been working on our water system and was waiting for the overflow to confirm my repair job when an incredibly cute weasel hurried out of hiding just a couple feet away from me. 

I think we both felt similar emotions at that moment — quite curious, and a bit wary of one another.

As I gazed at him, the weasel ran from one location to another keeping me in view but out of reach. At one point he began to approach me in the camouflage of some grass, but then thought better of it.  He dashed back to a different vantage point and finally disappeared up the hill. 

I don’t know how long our interaction lasted, it can’t have been more than a few minutes, but it felt timeless. It was an experience of ordinary awe that led me into Wonder. 

Wonder is a mental state where we become curious, open to mysteries, full of questions.

People who experience more everyday awe tend to spend more time in the mental state of Wonder.

 One of the perks researchers have discovered is that rather than becoming gullible, all the curiosity and questioning in the state of Wonder encourages our thinking to be more rigorous and discerning.

It’s this state of Wonder that some scientists have used to ask the questions that began their groundbreaking discoveries. It was experiencing the Wonder of rainbows that led both Issac Newton and Rene’ Descartes to a line of questions that they translated into mathematics and the physics of light, color and perception.

Where are the wonders?

I think our world is jam-packed with them. To find wonders all we need to do is to pay attention with curiosity. Ask questions. When we wonder about something –  the State of Wonder can be close at hand. Sometimes a weasel shows up to lead us into wonder. Sometimes it’s an idea, or a song, or another person.

Our only job: Become curious and pay attention.

Soul Sculpting Project: A Wonder Hunt

1. Look around – right next to you, out the window, in your own mind, or the realm of God.

2. Find something that sparks a little wonder — or that you’re curious about. 

3. Ask some questions about it.

4. Stay there for just a little while. 

Simple question starters

• Why is 
• What could happen if 
• Where did/does
• Why isn’t 
• When did/does
• How did/does

This project will help us cultivate our ability to experience wonder. It could lead us to a moment of delight and who knows — it could lead us to some groundbreaking discovery.

As I watched the weasel, I wished I could get his picture, but I knew that it was better to etch the memory in my brain than fumble for my camera.

I’ve learned a few things over the years about Wonder moments like this weasel one. 

• #1 Wonders of this kind seldom repeat. 
• #2 The way to treat Wonders is to show up deeply and stay there.

These lessons could be a good formula for a lot of moments in my life.

My gratitude for researchers: Keltner, Griskevicius, Vald, Shiota, and Neufeld