A Sense of Wonder

The last weekend before I start the fall semester - I give you Rachel Carson, from her treasure of a book: A Sense of Wonder. It seems to be time for me to get out into the world these next two days, "contemplate the beauty of the earth" and fill up my "reserves of strength." So, it's off to watch the ebb and flow of tides, the migration of birds, which probably is well on its way already. Break away from the computer, from all the news of doom, also gloom. Go fill up my haptic banks. I hope you can do the same.

If a child asked me a question that suggested even a faint awareness of the mystery behind the arrival of a migrant sandpiper on the beach of an August morning, I would be far more pleased than by the mere fact that he knew it was a sandpiper and not a plover. ... Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.

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