Radical amazement by Colleen Keating

 

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ….
get up in the morning
and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted.
Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible;
never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”

by Abraham Joshua Heschel

A selection of recent moments of amazement. 

 

 

 

Radical amazemnt 

This morning low on the city horozon
I watched the sun twinkle through the trees
their tracery –  bare limbs of deciduous  and  evergreens
highlighting its early journey into a new day.

It is a holiday here for the Queen’s birthday
and on the sharp edge of winter it is hard to leave my bed
as one would normally do to rise with the light
I linger “under the doona” as we call it these day
and ponder Heschel’s words .

How easy it is to take another day for granted
to  look  casually  at the wonder of the light
outside my window
at camellias blooming gloriously in red and pink and white
some with soft salmon  frilled to the edge.

How easy to  treat the bird song in the high trees
 casually rather than hear it as music for my soul
and to forget everything around us
be it common, familiar, ordinary 
is  phenomenal, incredible and extraordinary.
not waiting   for it to be gone or to change to realise this

When the word radical means deep, absolute total
there is no room for measure
when amazement calls for  surprise, atonishment even shock
we have our call to live with radical amazement

Our spitiuality.No need for church
it is here right now