“Stuff your eyes with wonder,” Mr. Bradbury said. “Live as if you’d drop dead in 10 seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.”
What a way to see the world. I wrote that quote in my journal a few weeks ago, and it turned into my post “See the world.”
“Stuff your eyes with wonder.” Do you ever stop in wonder about what a remarkable device an eye is? You might, if you shut your eyes tight and try walking around the room. Don’t peek! Now open them and consider how these two little orbs, wired to your brain, take the world and transform it into something you can understand — the colors, the obstacles in your path, the people and flora and fauna around you, the words!
Turn your head in any direction, and there is so much to see. Your eyes are stuffed with imagery! How can you contemplate what’s right in front of you and not be filled with wonder?
When we wake up in the morning, no one is promised they will see the sunset. Might you drop dead in 10 seconds? Could this be the day you breathe your last? It’s always within the realm of possibility. You’re not completely certain a heart attack or brain aneurysm won’t snatch your body away from you a few seconds from now, or a runaway semi truck won’t crumple your car beyond recognition, or a meteor won’t land on your house.
How do you live as if you’d drop dead in 10 seconds? See the world! Love your neighbor! Hug your family and your friends and your puppies! (Cats may be hugged, too, if they will let you.) Pay attention!
I am as guilty as anyone of neglecting the wonder in every corner of my life. My eyes glaze over as I drive past vistas as breathtaking as any on Earth. I doomscroll until I have lost more than a few precious minutes. I tut-tut over what some idiotic politician has said or done, and I wonder what has become of the world.
But then I open my journal, and my eyes happen to land on Mr. Bradbury’s encouragement, and I look about the room and out the window, and I see the world, the marvelous, miraculous world that is still there and beckoning us to use your life to be alive! And my eyes and ears fill up with all there is to see, and I’m so glad I thought to write down those words.
This, this, I suspect, is why I wrote them down in the first place.