Expansion
WONDER: to feel curiosity or doubt
Tim Stegall said that Bob Dylan “still treats the stage as a laboratory rather than a jukebox.” (in The Austin Chronicle, as reported by Austin Kelon in his current Substack)
I know what he was trying to say, but the laboratory isn’t a place where you go and indulge in curiosity. It is an arena for measured study. One string is pulled from the rest of the web, and then it is categorized, using one measurement tool. You don’t get the chance to take the whole web into a room and then play with all the equipment. The scientific method demands that you isolate one variable. You can't pour everything into the dirt to splash in the mud.
The lab is not a place for reckless wonder.
Where can I find wonder?
The world has become rigid, everyone specializes, and there are rules for everything.
I woke up this morning remembering the rosy cheeked toddler I took to the pediatrician. Before that day, I was always patted on the back and given those extra gold stars for breastfeeding so long. Only this time, she looked horrified that at eighteen months our son wasn’t weaned.
Had I lost my mind?
Where is there wonder?
The closest I’ve been to that delicious state recently is when we were visiting Joey in Manhattan. Unbeknownst to me, Joey has a love of museums and spends some of his free time wandering around the Natural History Museum. According to AI, the museum is 25-28 interconnected buildings spanning 2 million square miles.
I followed my youngest son up deserted staircases, through gift shops, into back passageways, into what appeared to be a closet that led to a great hall - there we found the placental mammals. Joey has become an explorer. At the end of our day, our feet were heavy, and we made our way to the subway. Joey said, “We didn’t even get to the totem poles.”
This July 4th weekend, I am hoping for some wonder, and I hope to find a little of it skimming the internet for MSG photos.
Happy Taylor Swift’s wedding weekend to all who participate. Keep searching for the totem poles.
If you want more about what I’m thinking about, take a listen to my discussion with Healthy Mind, Healthy Life
