9 simple ways to bring some WOW (Ways Of Wonder) back into your life

Do you still wonder?

WONDER: to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel (at).

You are submerged with information, have all the latest technological gadgets and travel to the world's nicest holiday destinations.

But do you still wonder? Really wonder?

Here are a few things to bring some simple awesomeness back into your life.

1. Space:
   We think we know a lot about our solar system and the stars and planets that are in it. But we only know a finite portion of what's out there. When I was little, I used to scare myself just by thinking what would be if the earth did not exist. That brought up a lot of scary thoughts and questions, but also made me go 'wow' I am so little in all this immensity.
   Astronomy Picture of the Day
   Hubble site
    
2. Art:
   Have you ever seen a Van Gogh painting (or a Klimt or Monet etc)? A real one? Have you looked at the whole composition? And have you also approached the canvas so closely that you could almost put your nose against it? Try that! It gives you a different perspective about it. It shows you the tiny slow or wild brushstrokes and form little pieces of art all by themselves (visit here and click on show enlargement) to experience that with one of my favorite Van Gogh paintings).
   Van Gogh Gallery
   Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam
    
3. Babies:
   Go visit a friend who has just had a baby. Ask if you may carry her/him. Look at the perfection in this miniature creature. Tiny fingernails, eyelashes, a mouth and eyes to make faces at you, their little hand clinging to your finger although he doesn't even know you...
   Anne Geddes
   
4. Weather:
   It may not be the season to lie on your back in the grass and look at the amazing formations clouds provide you with (so keep that in mind for spring or summer). But the weather provides wonderful things every season: the perfect symmetry of snowflakes, the wild force of a storm tugging at your sleeves... So go out, brave the elements and look for wonder.
   Storm photos
    
5. Music:
   They say listening to Mozart's music changes your brain waves. I am not a person who can listen to Mozart everyday. However, like with everything else, I like to look at it from a different perspective. So instead of listening to it, why don't you LOOK at it for a change? Take some sheet music and look at the little notes, the individual low or high ones, the ones clustered together to form a family, the ones without legs. Try to read them visually (not musically). Wow, what a pretty, moving picture they paint.
   Example: Sheet music Mozart piano concert N 21
   Digital Mozart Edition (access to complete works of Mozart)
    
6. People:
   We have all heard about wonderful people such as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela etc. But there are so many people close by and much more accessible who are equally admirable.
   Look at the nurse in your local hospital. She gets up in the middle of the night to wake up her patients every morning with a smile.
   Look at your child's teacher who has the patience to explain the world to him.
   Look at the volunteer who helps out at the soup kitchen.
   All of them, small Wow's, So say thank you to them next time you come across one.
   Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
   
7. Nature:
   Being outdoors is something we tend to not get enough of. We work inside, we shop inside, we do sports inside. The outdoors is full of small wonders. Take a walk through the woods for example and approach a tree. Hug it, and look at its bark.
   The abstract art of bark can complete mesmerize you.
   
8. Read:
   Read the Awesome Book to your kids.
   Read 1000 awesome things.
   Create some WOW with Bookboats for kids in Laos.
   
9. Watch:
   Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium: