Reverb10 :: Wonder

Lunch at an organic farm in Tuscany (Nov, 2010)

I've decided to be a part of Reverb10. It's a 31-day blogging challenge where you reply to the daily writing prompts that are designed to get you to reflect on this past year as well as provide some insight for the upcoming year. I'm going to give myself 5-7 minutes for each post.

I'm just getting started with Day 4 :: December 4, 2010 :: Wonder

• How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

It's been a bit challenging to try to break out of my usual hum drum days. I teach at a university and not a day goes by when I'm not inundated with something related to work. As a result, I typically feel like a mouse on a wheel. Creating a sense of wonder is a task. But occasionally I do get to tackle it.

My recent trip to Italy was all about a sense of wonder. There was so much to see and do, but some days me and my travel partners just took it easy and took in the environment. Driving around the hills of Tuscany was spectacular. We most sat quietly taking in the serene beauty of the November afternoons. But the food alone was wonderful. The simplicity of how the food was prepared was a wake up call: for grilled veggies, for example, some olive oil, a little lemon and salt or just some pasta w/fresh tomato sauce. Nice.