EARTH DAY! sense of wonder

Notice and delight in the small and inconspicuous…

…drink in the beauty and wonder at the meaning of what you see.

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share in it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.

Rachel Carson 1956 “The Sense of Wonder”

My sister gave a copy of this text and photo to her Biology 100 students for [Earth Day or Easter]; the blondies above are our children, running on the Appalachian trail near our home on a day when the sun was perfect and huckleberries were ripe. I miss her!