From wonder into wonder…
On hitting roadblocks, beautifying your creative space, the Tao Te Ching, and Eddie Izzard.
Update from the Wonder Factory
Well, I was having a rather difficult week, feeling very out of sorts, overwhelmed, and completely unable to make progress on any of my work projects. Then, a friend came by and gave me a lovely, gentle energetic treatment, and it helped my mood enormously.
I have been held up, however, in transferring Small Wonders to Substack as I discovered someone else already claimed the name and URL on Substack—ack!—but he hasn’t posted anything or even set it up since he started it in October of 2023. I’ve written to him through his Substack to ask him to relinquish the URL but he hasn’t responded. Is he even alive? What can I do?
I’ve been so discouraged and confused by this. I could rename it, but I’m quite fond of the name, Small Wonders, and the theme. So, I’m not sure what to do. I’ve written to Substack support but haven’t heard back yet.
I’m so surprised to hit this roadblock when the whole thing was feeling rather inspired. What does it mean? I don’t know. I hit several roadblocks this week in different areas of life, the feeling of nothing moving forward, so maybe it’s just the stars aren’t aligned in this moment, and I just have to wait a little.
Weekly Wonders
It’s my birthday this coming Sunday, November 24. The biggest wonder and amazement is that I am still alive. And I’m doing quite well, despite some continued health challenges. It really is a daily wonder, this business of being alive, though it’s easy to lose sight of that sometimes.
This week’s wonders include going to see Eddie Izzard perform at the Mondavi Center in Davis this past weekend. Eddie is my and my husband’s favorite stand-up comedian, and it was such a treat to get to see her live. For a wonderful taste of Eddie’s offbeat humor, watch this clip:
And I was comparing translations of the Tao Te Ching this week—they vary widely!—and this rendering of the first entry in Witter Bynner’s translation is so perfect for our theme of wonder:
Existence is beyond the power of words To define: Terms may be used But are none of them absolute. In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words, Words came out of the womb of matter; And whether a man dispassionately Sees to the core of lifeOr passionately Sees the surface, The core and the surface Are essentially the same, Words making them seem different Only to express appearance. If name be needed, wonder names them both: From wonder into wonder Existence opens.
I ran across a translation of the Tao Te Ching by Ursula LeGuin in a bookstore in Davis. I didn’t buy it then but am thinking of getting it. She’s such a marvelous writer and thinker. I’m curious to see what she does with this classic text.
Wonder Spark: Enhancing Your Work and Play Space
Take a look at the space you use to create in or your work space or desk. Is there some small change you could make this week to beautify it?
Could you put a beautiful object or piece of art there? Or buy a bouquet of flowers to put there. Maybe there are too many objects and you no longer really see or appreciate them—rearranging or simplifying or changing them out could refresh the space.
Or perhaps clean it up or declutter it? Perhaps get an organizing device to contain things in a more helpful and beautiful way. I find I have to clean up my desk and creative space a little every week as stuff accumulates quickly and it isn't conducive to me when it gets too cluttered. (But other artists need mess to be creative—this has been documented—so no judgment here.)
Where we work or create is a place that we often spend a lot of time and our souls need to feel good, inspired, and uplifted when we’re there. This doesn’t need to take a lot of time and energy. In fifteen minutes or fewer, you could make a positive change to this sacred space.