The Language of Wonder
mark October 12th, 2007
(Mark) An English friend used to needle me endlessly about Americans: “You can always tell the Americans, because all they say is ‘Wow!’”
He meant this, of course, to suggest that Americans are not as cultured and refined as his fellow English. In some ways, I guess he was right. Being from Texas, I never really aspired to ‘cultured’ status, but over the years, I’ve come to a different understanding, having said my fair share of ‘Wow’s.
It seems to me that there is something essential in our nature about wonder, the ability to look at something or someone and just say, ‘Wow.’ In Getting a Grip, Frances refers to mirror neurons in our brains that fire whenever we see another individual do something. Maybe this explains our wonder, too. Perhaps ‘Wow’ expresses a deep-seated power of empathy; maybe it is the language of wonder.
If that’s true of vistas and structures, how much more is it true of people? Isn’t this the essence of a hero: Someone who stimulates in our minds wonder and amazement? Don’t our heroes make us say, ‘Wow’?
There is an amazing site that is meant to recognize this language of wonder. The My Hero Project is a website that thousands of teachers use to inspire their students and that thousands of ordinary people use to express their admiration for the individuals who make them say ‘Wow.’
Rose Pritzker recently posted this piece about Frances.
Who is your hero? Why not take a second to just say, ‘Wow’?
Peace, Mark
