A lot of us want to be amazing, but we're not patient or observant enough to be amazed. Life in the fast lane rarely allows us to slow down enough to see what's going on around us. In our race to be anywhere but here, we forget that here is the only place where we can discover ourselves. We're running too fast for too long. We need to not just pace ourselves, but to take off our cleats, feel the pavement or the grass or the sand in between our toes and remember what it was like to fully embrace not knowing it all. It's our ignorance that provides the opportunity for amazement.
I am reminded of amazement when I read most of what Grace Boyle writes, especially this post about bliss. What must it have been like to go to a school like that at such a young age? Should I move to Iowa so my daughter can go there, too? Will they let me enroll? I met Grace once. We shared coffee and a stroll around Boulder. She's every bit as amazing in person as she is on her blog. And she's able to be that because she lets herself be amazed often.
I'm tired of people thinking they know everything. I'm even tired of some people claiming to know anything at all. If nothing amazes you anymore, then there's a good chance you'll never do anything amazing yourself. When we let ourselves become students, we'll be surprised at what we can learn. And then, with this newly found knowledge, we can go out and impress people.
Or not. My guess is that you'll be so overwhelmed with contentment at being amazed that you'll want to be brought to that point of delight over and over again. Isn't it funny? If we want to be something big, we have to know what it means to be something small. Because when we're willing to be small, we feel bigger than life.