I'm sure you've heard this before: We are made of stardust. Beautiful statement. Sounds lovely and far-fetched and somewhat magical. Not only that but it's totally true! We are indeed composed of elements created in supernovas. This statement is, in fact, a perfect meeting of something magical that is also scientifically correct.
Cool.
How about this one: Have you heard that space dust is continually falling on us every day? That's a wild thought. Particles from outer space fall to our skin every day?! I'm happy to say that this is also correct. It's estimated that 100 metric tons of space dust enter the Earth's atmosphere daily.
Love it.
Notice the feeling you have when you consider these possibilities. Do you notice how thinking about these truths feels expansive, kinda uplifting, like my brain is seeing things completely new? It's a nice feeling! Brene Brown calls this feeling wonder. In her book Atlas of the Heart, she describes it like this:
"Both awe and wonder are often experienced in response to nature, art, music, spiritual experiences, or ideas. In the midst of these moments, we can feel overwhelmed by the vastness of something that is almost incomprehensible."
She goes on to say, specifically about wonder:
"Wonder inspires the wish to understand... Wonder fuels our passion for exploration and learning, for curiosity and adventure."
Long story short: Wonder = Good. From an energetic standpoint, wonder shifts our perspective - even just for a moment - and has an expansive, uplifting effect on us.
People often ask me why I love rock & crystals. Why would a biology major care so much not only about rocks but how could I possibly have gotten mixed up with the energies of them?
The answer is wonder.
Do you know how old that piece of quartz is that is sitting on your desk? (If you don't have some sort of crystal on your desk, you should probably remedy that ASAP.) It took hundreds of years just for a few particles of the quartz to form. So how many hundred of years would it have taken for the entire piece of quartz to find itself in the shape it is now?
Quartz is created from silicon dioxide, the most common compound in Earth's surface. But do you know how many different types of quartz there are? The different colors and variations are the result of select elements being found in the midst of the silicon dioxide groupings at just the right time during its formation. These different elements cause slightly different colors to be formed in the quartz. When you hold that piece of quartz, you are holding the result of chemical processes that had just the right timing over the timespan of HUNDREDS of years before anyone ever dug it out of the Earth.
Wonder & Awe.
Wonder spikes curiosity and learning and so I will blame my interest in the energetics of crystals on the wonder that they have inspired in me. In learning more, I have discovered entire worlds of information that I never would have. Isn't that interesting.
What is it that invokes wonder in you? How can you find more of that? Perhaps it involves starting a crystal shop and hoarding so many crystals in your garage that your husband is slightly worried. Perhaps it is mountain biking in the desert where you can be thrown from your bike straight into cacti. (That's my husband's choice.) Perhaps you have a different path in front of you (probably). Whatever it is, let's keep sharing it with each other! When we share our wonder, that feeling of expansion has no choice but to spread. All good things.
P.S. My husband says everyone should probably go to my shop and buy some more crystals for your desks so that he can buy another mountain bike. <eye roll>