When I ask my co-worker what's the first thing she thinks about when I say the word 'wonder,' she pauses ever so briefly before replying, "bread." Not the response I was expecting!For me, wonder is the supermoon tonight. Her belly full, pregnant light...oblivious to Facebook posts bellowing her beauty or articles announcing the arrival and departure (She will not be seen again until August 2014). How many of us have clicked pause on our computertvvideo screens to pause, and wonder at the shadows cast? Houses, porches, verandas shrouded in the night, while upturned faces are musing the sky.
I remember one August in California. I was living in Sonoma County and wanted to see the Perseid meteor shower. Where could I drive above the city lights to view this yearly phenomena? Ahh...secluded Lichau Road. So up and up I drove and then was shocked at the snake of cars park along the road. Seems I wasn't the only one with this brilliant idea. At first I was annoyed. It was crowded and I couldn't find a place to park. Some people had music blasting, a full-on meteor party. A far cry from the quiet evening I had anticipated. But then I thought somehow, whether it was conscious or not, everyone on that hill was responding to the ancient pull of celestial wonder. Much like our ancestors did so long ago, we stand outside and gaze up, up, up at the stars with our questions and insignificance.
Wonder is imagination unleashed. Last summer I've never been happier to work with a wonderful company called Zany Umbrella Circus. It was dress rehearsal. We had spent two weeks as Artists-in-Residence creating a show called HOME and were about to have our first audience--the kids from the local day care center. We were curious to see how they would react for we had been working in seclusion. We were told this would be the first time any of the children had seen a performance in a theater. And so, with no realm of theater etiquette to draw upon, they didn't shy away from vocalizing EVERYTHING they were seeing and feeling. They narrated and commented throughout the entire show. It was great! Instant--pure and honest--feedback. It was exactly what we needed! Afterwards, we did a Q & A. One boy raised his hand and asked, "Was that...umm...was that," (we could see him trying to formulate his young thoughts), "was that 'magi...'magination?" He couldn't pronounce it, but he recognized it. Yes! Bingo! That was imagination.
Wonder is Nelson Mandela now fighting for breath robbed of him on Robben Island.* For 27 years, twenty-seven years, you gazed through gray confinement and then walked out to embrace the Rainbow Nation you helped to create behind those bars.
"As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison."
A monumental event for the entire world, for those who believed in justice, peace and reconciliation, I cried that February day in 1990. And marveled at your resilience, courage and strength. But mostly at your ability to love and forgive.
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
I wonder, how did you withstand your own extraordinary life? How did you draw upon the well of faith when despair threatened to pull you under? How did you fortify your reserves? It is a burden to be a beacon of light for humanity. It comes with much personal sacrifice. And yet, you have generously given to the world. Your 95th birthday less than a month away, you have given us the breath of your life. We breathe for you now.
*While incarcerated, Nelson Mandela contacted tuberculosis. Needless to say, medical treatment was sub-par for prisoners.
<3
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