Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder…
“We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic.” E. Merrill Root
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder... Dragon Fly enjoying time on a lotus bud
Wonder: One that arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration; a marvel: “The decision of one age or country is a wonder to another” (John Stuart Mill). b. The emotion aroused by something awe-inspiring, astounding, or marvelous: I gazed with wonder at the northern lights.
2. An event inexplicable by the laws of nature; a miracle.
3. A feeling of puzzlement or doubt.
4. Wonder – A monumental human creation regarded with awe, especially one of seven monuments of the ancient world that appeared on various lists of late antiquity. (Free Dictionary.com)
There is much around us that makes us stare in awe or gasp in delight; beautiful art, a gorgeous sunset, historical sites, and even a simple but fascinating scene, like the dragonfly perched on the lotus bud, unfolding before our eyes. I took this shot at the NY Botanical Garden lotus pond. For this challenge, I searched for shots that shared something special yet understandable. Even with the fine definitions of wonder above, the operative word for the choices I made is – marvelous with a dash of awe-inspiring tossed in… hope you enjoy them.
“Wonder rather than doubt is the root of knowledge.” Abraham Joshua Heschel
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder... Henry Moore Dancing Sculptures in Denver
The Henry Moore dancing sculptures were quite magnificent… I took the photograph in a park in downtown Denver. What was astonishing was the sheer size of the sculptures. The two dancing figures were probably about the height of a 6-storey building. They were pure white and gleamed in the sun as they danced away… Quite beautiful.
“Wonder is music heard in the heart, it’s voiceless.” Rosemary Dobson
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder... Another Frank Gehry structure - Seattle's Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder... Another view of the same building
My pictures of the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame didn’t quite do the complex and dramatic building justice and so, I encourage you to check out some more photos of this remarkable structure on Wikipedia. It is adjacent to the Space Needle and the Seattle Center Monorail, and I took the photos on a trip to Seattle. It is another structure designed by Frank Gehry and is quite organic in design and covers a very long city block. More below. 🙂
“From wonder into wonder existence opens.” Lao Tzu
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder... Early Full moon over townhall at 5pm...
While this is a simple shot, what I love about it is the fact that the clock above Town Hall confirmed my astonishment at seeing a full moon glowing in the sky at 5:00pm on a fairly ordinary day. I was driving home from the train station and pulled over to capture the moon glowing over the building and the clock confirming what the time was… Lovely!
“Wondering’s healthy. Broadens the mind. Opens you up to all sorts of stray thoughts and possibilities.” Charles de Lint
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder... J's beautiful floor length hair...
J was an attendee at a workshop I attended in Manhattan. When I first met her, she had her hair braided up and rolled neatly into a chignon. During a short break, she let it hang down and that was when I noticed the length of her hair… down to her ankles! I asked if I could take a picture and she agreed. What a wondrous thing; it is all hers and she confirmed that it does take time to wash and brush but she loves her hair… It is beautiful!
What about you? Was it easy/hard to find the right photos for your example of Wonder? Were you drawn to specific examples for the prompt? Did you enjoy selecting your photos for this prompt? Do share? Thank you! 🙂
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder…
Positive Motivation Tip: If we view the world in a state of constant wonder we will discover many of its gifts and riches.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos from my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Very looong hair! 🙂
Awesome selections especially the dragonfly and Moore sculpture. J’s hair is amazing
B
I love the Henry Moore sculpture. Wonderful!
“Wonder
rather than doubt
is the root of
knowledge.”
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Gorgeous images for the subject of WONDER.. I have been looking for more images but I have been happy with the ones I have found. The one of the lass with the very long hair was interesting. I too had very long hair once it was down to behind my knees and then I got it cut short. We were in the country on tank water and it got difficult!
J’s hair is indeed a wonder!
I wonder how long it takes ehr to washa nd dry it?
Lovely. Each made me wonder.
Wonder how long Jade’s been growing her hair?
The dragonfly shot is ethereal. Love it. The hair is scary!
b
I love those dancing sculptures.
There truly is wonder all @ us! Thanks for sharing these wonders…
My husband and I spent 14 months last year travelling all over the United States. There were so many things we saw that took our breath away. Like Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, the Rio Grande, the plains of Wyoming…so many things. The Mississippi….I took so many photos and believe I wasn’t really able to capture that take your breath away moment when I first saw them. Great post…..
Positive Motivation Tip: If we view the world in a state of constant wonder we will discover many of its gifts and riches.
I love this tip. Somewhere in my 40’s my outlook on life started changing. Nothing happened to inspire this change, it just came out of the blue. That is when I started looking around me. Seeing things for the first time. I am grateful it happened to me and I will always strive to keep that state of constant wonder.
A wonderful selection of wonders. As pictures my favourites are the dragon fly and the moon over town hall. But J’s hair was quite astonishing.
Dragonfly “on a lotus bud” … is just perfect!!
The dragonfly photo is lovely–you can see all the details in his wing and the Frank Gehry sculpture–phenomenal–he certainly has a wonder-ful mind!
I loved the statues – the movement, the fluidity of the lines .. they almost seemed like they were moving .. how truly lovely to have something so big, so solid and still create that feeling …
I would also like to expand the sense of wonder – the world has many amazing things, but there is also a need to explore and meet people with a true sense of wonder and curiosity – like when I met you – I wondered what you would be like, such a beautiful woman, with such clear communication … I have recently been fortunate to meet several inspirational people, some of which just brings forward a sense of wonder, wonder about their strength, their desire to survive, and their ongoing journey into wonder and curiosity.
Anik,
Thank you for your comment… I’ve been swamped with personal projects of late and need to push back some of the strain and reconnect with everyone again. It was a delight to connect with you too and I look forward to a long friendship. Happy Holidays! 🙂
Wonder-ful shots!
Marvelous wonders. Great entry!
Wow! Great shots… and grand long hair! =D
The hair just blew me away!
Great selection of Wonder. The Henry Moore sculptures are WONDERful.
Good post as always. Frank Gehry structure is awesome. I can’t imagine such shape.
Wow, these pictures had me saying wow over and over! 🙂
As for the hair, my hair is long enough and high maintenance enough the length it is….I can’t imagine having to put that much time and effort into my hair!
Wow! it was hard to get past the hair. How on earth does she take care of it? It is pretty, but I imagine it takes forever to dry.
Wonder comes from playfulness – or playfulness from wonder; simply being and observing instead of putting on the blinkers of science and logic.
I love miracles and magic just as I did when I was a child, but in between I had a phase where the magic was lost as soon as I found out the “how” – until I realized that in every instance i could choose to switch my point of view, and see both aspects 🙂
Wow – that stunned me with the long hair. How does she manage to keep up with hair maintenance and even combing it?