I wonder as I wander out under the sky. I believe to wonder is one of the greatest human characteristics that our creator has blessed us with. It is most likely the initializing factor of all human creativity. Especially, if you are stifling to our creative ability in a negative and unproductive way, if you’re wondering is all self-centered and superficial like, “I was just wondering?” Have you ever heard that phrase before? When it is phrased as a question, that is exactly what it is—a question. And a wonder question is often answered with a less than friendly “none-of-your-business!” response. Can we wonder too much? One writer suggested that “Perhaps my most unproductive time is when I am wondering if she loves me. I always need to work better at wondering what people think of me. We are trained by evolution to wonder. Don’t feel bad for yourself if you wonder too much. Blame evolution.”—James Altucher. The type of wondering that he expressed in that statement is without a doubt the most unproductive wondering. Unless you are a young single person and a little on the self conscious side, then it may be natural to wonder if “she” or “he” likes or loves me. But always wondering about what other people think of you is a virtual waste of time, unless you are a politician.
How can a person expect to be productive and able to concentrate on his growth and self improvement if he is constantly concerned about being watched and how his friends and peers see him? He would always feel that he is in the spotlight. There is a story called the “The Disciple and the Hen” that goes something like this: A spiritual master once gave a hen to each of his two disciples and said, “Take them to a spot where you can kill them without anyone seeing you.” The first disciple walked out and, hiding behind a bush, he looked around and made sure that no one was watching. He then killed the hen and brought it back to the master. The second disciple didn’t return until sunset. He was tired and weary, and in his arms he carried the hen, which was still alive. With his head hung low, he handed the hen to his master. “Revered master,” he said, “Though I tried and tried, I could not find a single spot where no one would see me; for wherever I went, the hen was always looking at me.” With the fear of what others might think of us, we can never finish our assignments because “the hen is always looking at us.” We have to live such that we have a clear conscience, and if we do, we won’t worry about what others may think, because we know who we are and that we have intrinsic and eternal value. Some very smart individual stated “The secret to being your best: Stop comparing.”
Most importantly, we must avoid imitation, for then our life and values are merely a facade. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated that we have to: “Trust thyself for…Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist…Insist on being yourself, never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation; but the adopted talent of another you have only as an extemporaneous half possession.” On the other hand, wondering to oneself can be a very productive experience when you spend your “wondering time” wondering about life and about the things in your life that you might improve upon irrespective of what others may think. For wondering about what others think about you and how you can most effectively impress them, is a life spent in absentia of yourself and your own loves and interests. I have sometimes wondered how some of the great philosophers obtained their great wisdom and their ability to express it so effectively. Many were recluses and did their best work when isolated from others. For example, Henry D. Thoreau’s greatest work was written while isolated for over two years at Walden’s Pond. Great people were wonderers, and wondering can sometimes take you deeper within your own mind than any other mental exercise.
Some of the most important wondering that we do will be of a spiritual nature. How did the “Great Creator” create? How was it that Christ could die and somehow absolve all mankind of sin based on the principle of repentance, etc., etc. I wonder as I have always wondered, and I will always wonder still, as I wander out under the sky. I wonder, how Jesus the Saviour did come for to die, For poor on’ry people, often self centered people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
When Mary birthed Jesus ‘twas in a cow’s stall With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all But high from God’s heaven, a star’s light did fall And the promise of ages it then did recall.
If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God’s Angels in heaven to sing
He surely could have it, ‘cause he was the King I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
This popular folk hymn was written by American folklorist and singer, John Jacob Niles.
My wondering has led me to thoughts much more deep and insightful than would I have been led to by any other mental effort. I love to wonder, and in doing so, I have sometimes made family and friends wonder what might be wrong with me. Wondering can lead not only to serious mental effort, but it ofttimes leads to great humor. Many things in life are meant to be enjoyed and even laughed at. I wonder as I wander out under the sky.