Thank you for attending the Creative Mornings Montreal WONDER talk at Aire Commune. I hope it inspired you to get your wonder on!
What is Wonder?
I believe Wonder is three things:
a FEELING…surprise, delight, fascination, awe;
a QUESTION…”I wonder if/when/what/who/how…”; and
a PRACTICE…something you can consciously cultivate anywhere, at anytime.
Developing a Wonder Practice
Here’s what I’ve learned about keeping wonder alive…
You need stillness and stimulus. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in the past 5 years is that curiosity and wonder can only be sustained if you pulse between stillness and stimulus. I don’t think I would have fallen in love with Montreal quite as hard if I hadn’t arrived here from my snowy, moose-y rural housesits. And Lisbon would not have knocked my socks off in quite the same way if I’d arrived there from Hong Kong, instead of the snowy quiet of a Swiss mountain village. Wonder needs stillness and stimulus to thrive.
You need time on your own and time with other people. I think you can sink into and experience wonder most easily on your own because you’re not distracted by conversation or anyone else’s impression of what’s happening. But you can compound the feeling of wonder—extend it and its lessons—by sharing it with others.
It’s helpful to have a dash of structure. This is especially true if you wonder muscles are a touch underused. Having a bit of structure—like My Curious Eyes (sign up below!)—can help you tune into what’s around you in a way that will foster surprise, inspiration and insight.
And you really need to spend time WANDERING. I’m a wanderer by nature and I wander and wonder my way into new ideas, solutions to problems and good mental health by walking every day. One of my favourite ways to help people find answers to the things their wondering about is to host Street Wisdom walkshops. I’ll be leading some free walkshops in Montreal this summer so be sure to sign up for our newsletter (below in the footer) if you’d like to join us.
I strongly recommend that you take your curious eyes and your open heart on a small wonder and wander adventure at least once/week.
An invitation to My Curious Eyes
Season 8 of My Curious Eyes starts on Monday, September 2. I would love to have you join us. You can sign up below.
And some delicious recommendations + another recipe
I wouldn’t be a very good pasteis de nata zealot if I didn’t tell you the very best place to buy them in Lisbon...Manteigaria. (And if you make to Belém, don’t miss the tarts at Pastéis de Belém. They are to die for.)
And I also wanted to give you a way to enjoy them at home. This recipe has been lovingly tested by Hannah Morris, a member of our My Curious Eyes community. It is VERY good.
