"The root of religion is the question-- what to do with the feeling for the mystery of living, what to do with awe, wonder and amazement." - Abraham Joshua Heschel
"The awareness of the divine, which begins first with a sense of wonder, silently grows until it overwhelms us with a feeling of concern, forcing us to care for things we ordinarily would not care about and for goals which go beyond our self-interest...religion comes about as a result of what one does with ultimate wonder. It is not awe or wonder or amazement that is the root of religion, but rather the question of what one does with the sense of awe, wonder and amazement that kindles within us the experience of indebtedness. Wonder above all is "the state of our being asked." - Donald J. Moore, on AJH
What do you think?
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Oooohhh! I love the last lines especially. When I am out in nature I do have an overwhelming sense of awe and wonder....how can I not feel indebted to a higher being - an unknown that has created such beauty? "the state of our being asked" is the part that really has me thinking.
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I am still processing the quote, actually. But I would tend to agree with the idea of wonder growing. For example, when I sit on a bus and notice beautiful things outside, I am more likely to notice the beauty that is within the people sitting on the bus with me.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean Shayna. It's like the first realization opens me up to seeing more than I would otherwise see. And it helps me focus that energy inward as well as outward, not only towards others but in myself as well.
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