A New Kind of Wonder

won·der·ment

/ˈwəndərmənt/

noun   –a state of awed admiration or respect.

This week, while writing my letters of gratitude, I found myself in a state of wonderment.  I would find myself consumed by thoughts of admiration for how amazing the person I was writing to was.  I would start out to communicate one attribute that I was thankful for and so many more would come to mind. There was so much to be grateful for.

Writing the letters led me to take time to notice.

For example, as I was writing a letter to my son, I stopped to look at him playing cards and just took a minute to soak up the moment.  I paid attention as he was concentrating on a card game he was playing. When he saw me he looked at me with his half smile and I winked at him. He stopped what he was doing, got a big grin on his face, and winked back at me.  Then he went back to playing solitaire. This moment could have been lost if I was scrolling through my phone or watching TV.  It could have easily slipped by if I didn’t take the time to notice.

I mailed a lot of my letters this week.  So the effect of the letters on others will not be known to me for some time or maybe ever.  However, writing the letters had me taking the time to stop and notice what I am grateful for. When I wrote letters in the morning it was a good way to start my day and have gratitude on my brain.  As I went through the day I was stopping to notice things I was grateful for. I wrote some letters on my lunch break to some co-workers and it put me into a better mood right away. I was eager to do more noticing and decided to send a few quick emails to staff who had helped out that day to let them know I was grateful for their help.  

One of my original “wonders” when I wanted to do this challenge was if there would be a ripple effect to writing them…and there sure was!

My take away from this challenge is that I want to take more time to notice and be present in more moments. To have more moments of wonderment.  

To do this I am coining a new phrase Wonderment Wednesday. Wednesday will be my day to take time to notice and be grateful.  

I would love for you to join me by taking the time to notice something you are in wonderment of on Wednesdays!  Share on social media with #WondermentWednesday and #52WeeksofWonder.

Have you tried any of the challenges?  Are you planning to but need a little push?  Email me at marnie@marniepauly.com I will check in on you. Or just send me an email to introduce yourself!

Challenge #3: Family Traditions

Wonder: Will creating new family traditions bring me closer to my family?

This week’s challenge is going to be to create some new family traditions. My husband, two kids, and myself will each share one idea we would like for a family tradition and we will try it out this week.  Then we will decide if we want to keep it and when we will do it!

Do you have any family traditions?  Email me at marnie@marniepauly.com to share any ideas you might have!