Welcome, wonder-full human!
I am Maxima Kahn, a poet and writer, multi-faceted artist, teacher and firekeeper. I seek to foster beauty and truth, wonder and imagination, play and connection in the world and help others to unleash their creativity, inner freedom, and joy.
Here at Small Wonders, we are cultivating wonder and creativity in our lives through small acts of attention, shared inspiration, and communion with each other and the living world.
We seek to bring more art and soul, play and delight, inspiration and awe into our days. We also talk about the hard stuff and how to navigate it because that's part of living an artful, soulful life and finding genuine wonder. And we wonder about things, cultivating healthy curiosity and openness.
I currently publish once a week, except if there’s special news, so as not to overwhelm you or me.
I'd love for you to join us here.
By becoming a paid subscriber, you help to ensure a world of art, beauty, magic, inspiration, and heart. You are also supporting my work in the world as an artist, teacher, and firekeeper. Thank you! I believe magical things will grow in your life.
Please know you can choose to join for free—come check it out!—but you will only see part of what is shared here. Some of it is behind a paywall to allow for vulnerability, privacy of our collective sharing, and to protect my new creations. Rest assured that if you do become a paid subscriber—THANK YOU!—you can unsubscribe at any time.
Cultivating Wonder
To be in awe, delighted, moved, surprised in a good way, curious in an open-hearted way is part of our essential nature as humans. There is so much that is truly remarkable around us and within us, yet we often miss it, or it gets drowned out by the noise and challenges of the daily and mundane.
Cultivating wonder can be simple. It asks us to slow down, open up and lovingly tend to it. As we nourish it, our lives can feel more magical, rich, creative, and aligned.
A little encouragement, some weekly suggestions, and good company can help tremendously.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
What You’ll Receive
As a paid subscriber, you’ll get access to…
Weekly Wonders—I share the amazing, astonishing, weird and wonderful things I come across, including books, music, movies, art, ideas, and remarkable moments, so you can have a well-spring of inspiration and wonder in your life.
Updates from the Wonder Factory featuring vulnerable sharing of my creative journey through life alongside my new creations—poems, essays, visual art, music, and dance—so you get tidbits of beauty and inspiration delivered to your inbox once a week. I unveil my creative process and reflections on living an artful, soulful life to keep you encouraged on your own path.
Wonder Sparks—Simple prompts for you to play with to ignite creativity and wonder in your life.
Small Wonders Community Space —Share your own weekly wonders and get inspired, uplifted, and intrigued by others in our Community Space where we aim to gather a fabulous list of wonder-full things, such as books, movies, music, and more, to keep our hearts and souls well fed.
My love and deep gratitude that you are joining me on this wonder-filled exploration.
More goodies as I dream them up, including possibly live, online events.
Come subscribe to Small Wonders and nurture wonder in your life.
You can get all of this for as little as $7/month or $70/year ($5.83 per month, a 17% savings), or you can choose your own more generous annual donation.
You can also choose to continue on as a free subscriber for now. You’re very welcome here.
This newsletter is reader-supported. It’s a labor of love, but it is labor. To get the really juicy insider posts, access to our community space, and other goodies, upgrade to a paid subscription. You’ll be helping to foster more wonder and creativity in the world and you’ll be supporting what I do. Thank you!
Love, Maxima
P.S. You can find out more about my various offerings at https://www.maximakahn.com/
P.P.S. Here's a poem of mine, from my book Fierce Aria as a small wonder for your day.
Where Everything Is Music
“We have fallen into the place where everything is music.” —Rumi
How often the heart shatters,
as if shattering were its purpose.
Shards rain as a loved one
leaves, as a new
revelation tears me open,
as I mourn the self I failed.
Who knew wider had no
limit? Who knew rawness
is the heart’s condition?—all this
pouring light would bring
such fullness I nearly
choke on love.
I am swimming and drowning at once,
head barely above water,
then not above. Life
nearly wiping me out. Yet here
in these waves I believe
I can hear
fragments of luminous song.
