INTRODUCTION
I realized the other day that you don’t have to be a wonderful person to think and act according to this high standard. Being wonderful is sometimes quite good, though with conscious effort you can be wonderful more often.
Do you personally know wonderful people, in addition to your spouse, children, parents or other family members? (I’m removing your eligibility because, after all, most of us probably want to think of loved ones in laudatory terms, as nothing less than wonderful. This is the case even if one or more may seem considerably less than wonderful, i.e., a scoundrel, scoundrel, scoundrel or worm.)
Who do you know that comes close to your standards of wonderful people? (If you have a pencil and paper nearby, write down the names.)
Most of us view any number of assorted historical figures as wonderful people, given what we know about them relative to our own values. Unfortunately, regardless of their historical or other achievements, it’s not easy to know with confidence what they really were like, character-wise, and this difficulty increases the further back in time they lived. Many world leaders, sports stars, Hollywood figures, artists, and celebrities are associated with wonderful qualities. We might esteem these luminaries as wonderful people, but this is not the same as actually meeting one or two wonderful people, or many, up close and personal.
UNDERSTAND THE WONDERFUL
What is the wonder about, do you think? By wonderful, most people mean someone who is exceptionally good, such as amazing, awesome, amazing, amazing, eye-opening, fabulous, prodigious, amazing, amazing, stupendous, sublime, amazing, marvelous, and/or just plain awesome. You get the idea: wonder is a pretty high standard. If someone occasionally accuses you, in a nice way, of being wonderful, you probably feel pretty good about it. However, it would be better not to take such flattery seriously. You certainly don’t want anyone who said that about you to think you completely agree! That would seem immodest, perhaps Trumpian, which is certainly not among the highest of wonderful qualities.
Still, we admire those we think are wonderful, or at least have some wonderful qualities. We don’t always expect them to be wonderful (good and decent, yes) all the time because, despite their wonder, they’re still human. But, it delights us when they are wonderful in one way or another and we notice it. Each of those acts you witness strengthens your sense of their wonder.
Can we be wonderful in the way we live our lives, most of the time? The challenges to being wonderful are innumerable, including annoyances as distressing, stressful, and vexing as the Republican Party, coronavirus, crime, precipitous stock market crashes, global warming, superstition in general, and religious fundamentalism in particular. and aging and death. , to point out just nine of at least thousands of threats to the search and enjoy the wonder.
However, my opinion is that yes, of course we can be wonderful, more or less. However, it is more likely to be so if we recognize and value the nature of wonder and become aware of ways to incorporate more of these qualities into our individual selves.
RECOGNIZING A REAL WELLNESS PERSPECTIVE IN WONDERFUL
Is there such a thing as a real wellness perspective on wonder?
No and yes! No, in the sense that there is no single REAL wellness perspective on the wonder recognized by most Americans. Yes, in that there are many prospects of REAL well-being in the quest for wonder. To stimulate your consideration of such perspectives, I recommend three one-page reads, all short, memorable, and to the point.
The first is a speech delivered in the late 19th century by the great 19th century orator Robert Green Ingersoll entitled The Improved Man. The second is a set of qualities that describe secular humanism, available on the Research Center’s website. The third is found in the seven principles of the Satanic Temple. The members of the temple do not believe in any god or devil; his devotions are reason, tolerance, freedom, and science, as well as compassion and justice.
While there are too many wonderful qualities to list, these three sources of such qualities identify enough elements to spark glorious advancement from anywhere on the terrible to wonderful continuum. We can all move to the right along this imaginary continuum, even if you are the Pope. Especially if you are the Pope!
While or after reading these wonderful qualities, ask yourself two questions:
1. How am I? Do I have some or perhaps most of the qualities mentioned?
2. Which of the qualities can I work on to beautify my already impressive degree of awesomeness?
Best of luck in finding your unique perspective on REAL wellness and manifestation of wonder.
