That Sense of Wonder: How to Capture the Miracles of Everyday Life

by Francesco Dimitri

All of us experience a sense of wonder at some point in our lives. Perhaps you felt it when you experienced your first kiss; when you grasped the perfectly balanced beauty of an equation; or when you first saw the rose windows of Chartres Cathedral? Whatever the circumstances that triggered the feeling, you were left speechless by this extraordinary world of ours. We may speak different languages, cling to different ideas about politics, religion, and love—but a longing for wonder connects us all through space and time. Wonder is the impulse behind scientific and philosophical inquiry, artistic creativity, and spiritual yearning. It is the most fruitful human sense: firing our curiosity; inspiring us to hope and dream. But our sense of wonder—that feeling we had as children seeing the Milky Way for the first time—gets used up. Faced with the practical demands of adulthood, we trade a sense of wonder for a sense of reality, which all too often brings anxiety and unhappiness in its wake. By exploring the nature of wonder in many areas of human experience, from the natural world to the spirit world, from science to storytelling, Francesco Dimitri reveals how we can reclaim our sense of wonder—not to become children again, but to become happier and more fulfilled adults, better equipped to face the challenges of modern life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Spirituality

352 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2020

About the author

Francesco Dimitri is an Italian author living in London.

Reviews

[Hulttio · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘This journey we are taking, which we have started but can never really finish, is a journey of unlearning. At every step of the way, we have rid ourselves of more certainties, we have shed another layer of our armour, to make us ready to step into the world naked and vulnerable, to feel the wind caress our skin, and open the door to wonder.’

Ever since reading Never the Wind by Francesco Dimitri, I quickly went over to my library’s website and put holds on some of his other books. I was quite curious about this one since it is one of his nonfiction works, and purports to impart some philosophical musings from Dimitri. Based on reading his fiction, I already had the sense that I would enjoy his way of thinking, so this was a natural choice. Moreover, the concept of ‘wonder’ is already one that I am fascinated by, in part from hearing about it (rather secondhand) in an academic context, but also from a personal one—who doesn’t want to capture feelings of wonder in their life?

What brought this book to life were the author’s own experiences and musings woven in, alongside ‘interviews’, or perhaps conversations fits better, with people from various walks of life—pagan spiritualists, scientists, and even magicians. Dimitri demonstrates his extensive literary experience by referencing everything from Marsilio Ficino to modern pop culture, examining wonder not as some archaic artefact or remnant of childhood, but something which permeates those things and more, such that it is not wholly incompatible with a modern life. History and philosophy and myth, among other disciplines, are well-represented in this work. One of the issues hinted at by Dimitri is the oversimplification of wonder and mindfulness as something primitive or childish; far from it, he says, though these things can help too, but wonder is a complex emotion and entails complex processes that lead to it. At the same time, what triggers wonder can be something as incredible as seeing a beautiful cathedral in-person, or something as ‘ordinary’ as a teaspoon in your kitchen drawer.

The book has several ‘keys’ or ideas to focus on, kind of like a concept for meditation, and accompanying exercises that reinforce those ideas and notions explored in the chapter. I haven’t tried all of them… yet, but I did see a few that I am curious about trying, and will aim to get to. Maybe this year, maybe not. But I didn’t want to make following every single exercise the goal of my reading this book; rather, I wanted to go along on Dimitri’s journey of wonder as a fly on the wall, and for that, simply reading this book was a great adventure. I’m no stranger to the power of wonder, which strikes me in random places and times, and one I’d of course like to cultivate more in my day-to-day. Dimitri pens an ode to wonder and extols its relevance in modern life. He has far from unique in doing so, but his approach is multifaceted and personalized enough to be worthwhile on its own.

For instance, some of the chapters delve into politics a fair bit, which didn’t bother me too much as these discussions ultimately inform Dimitri’s overall philosophy. Once again, as in his fiction, I felt that Dimitri’s outlook on life and ideals are rather complementary to my own and resonated with me, so I find it easy to empathize. Moreover, this book prefers an expansive and all-encompassing idea of wonder, one that doesn’t shy way from the zany or unusual, whether that be street magicians or pagan witches or hugging trees—it can all inform us on how to reclaim and exercise an underutilized wonder ‘muscle’. Wonder and reality and the ‘adult life’ need not be mutually exclusive, and indeed flourishing according to Dimitri is finding a way to make all of these harmonize with each other. Surely it is a lofty goal, but one I can aspire to.

Favorite quotes:
※ ‘The neuroscientist Beau Lotto uses the expression “space of possibility” to indicate the space created in our brain by all the possible ways in which we can understand the world. I didn’t know that it was possible to hear foxes in a city – a fox was not in my space of possibility – so, when I heard a strange call, I could not think it was emitted by Vulpes vulpes.’
※ ‘The crusade never really happened; the feast, however, went down in history.’
※ ‘Writers try to write their way to better mental and spiritual health – even when we impressively fail. Even those of us who are keen on making money rarely have money as our prime motivator. We want to heal our hurts, feel things more intensely, and we want to do that together with readers – which means, other human beings. We write characters with zest and gusto because we want to have more of both, a lot more, we want all the zest and gusto we can find. The quest for pleasure is the ultimate form of wisdom.’ [Not sure I entirely agree with that last sentiment, but the bit about writing seems spot-on.]
※ ‘Only what is uncertain, unclear, misty, can be awesome. Scheherazade’s stories taught Shahryar how to rejoice in ambiguity. The price of certainty is a loss of wonder and the price of wonder is a loss of certainty: stage magicians, witches, scientists, explorers, and fairy-seers all agree that there is no way out of that.’

[Julian Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the frenetic pace of our modern world, this is a book worth stopping and taking a look at.

Easily written and instantly engaging, the author mixes his own experience and upbringing, with techniques on regaining our sense of attachment to the excitement and splendor of life itself.

Every once in a while we need to stop and take stock of the world around us and this book is filled with ideas and thoughts on how to do both that and to regain our sense of wonder.

A smashing read.

[F.T. Hoffmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un ottimo saggio sul senso del meraviglioso come antidoto alla banalità e alla ripetitività della vita consumistica.

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a strange book. I thought that this would be more philosophical and to do with personal development but it started by including topics related to wonder including a lot of history of magic and fairies (which I didn’t care for). I liked some of the excercises and prompts (e.g asking yourself When is your soul at its brightest?). However this could have been at shortened by least 50-100 pages which made it incredibly frustrating to read.

For me the most important ideas from the book can be summarised below. Dimitri defines ‘ritual’ as those words and actions that are meaningful not useful, and introduces the term numinous. He argues:
”It is not that we run out of new things to see, it is that we stop seeking them out...Every ‘reality tunnel’ becomes disenchanting when you convince yourself that is all there is...those tunnels are shortcuts through reality and not reality itself”. Another interesting idea is that “We need to learn to make mystery for ourselves”
and “Things of no importance do not exist in this bizarre universe”. There was an interesting discussion on commodification of nature and how this fed into the expansion of the travel Industry but this idea was not developed enough to sustain my interest.

[Jon Lewis]

Just what I needed in dark times.

A thoughtful and imaginative examination of wonder. Have already chosen my tree and visit it daily for some 'tree and me' time. Now I feel better about lingering and using all my senses to experience wonder. Thanks Francesco from another rebel who refuses to be a unit of labour.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book stretched my thinking beyond only thinking.
I can't pretend to be doing/thinking/sensing all he point to,
but I was and am at least challenged.

[Thomas Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read in a loooooooong time!
11/10

[Roger Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting analysis of the elusive sense of wonder. I was interested in this from a magician's point of view but there is much more here than just theatrical magic.

[Davide Sarti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finito di leggere qualche mese fa. Un libro meraviglioso, in tutti i sensi visto il tema che tratta. Ho imparato molto e ho provato una grande affinità con le esperienze e i consigli dell'autore. In un mondo in cui è facile cedere al grigiore della vita, mi ritengo davvero fortunato ad aver letto questo libro!

[Milena Rigucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Ho letto altri libri sulla falsa riga di questo e forse ciò incide sulla mia valutazione, ma tant’è: alcuni spunti sono interessanti e non nego di aver sparso segna pagine qua e là per tornare a leggere alcuni paragrafi, ma nel complesso risulta a volte ripetitivo e non proprio scorrevole.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful and imaginative examination of wonder. Have already chosen my tree and visit it daily for some 'tree and me' time. Now I feel better about lingering and using all my senses to experience wonder. Thanks Francesco from another rebel who refuses to be a unit of labour.

[Mark Dickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sits somewhere between self-help book and a cynic’s spiritual guide.

At its core, this is a book with some really helpful and actionable goals that is far, far too long. If this had been in the 150 page range then it would likely be a 5* read.

[Jaymi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful! The author draws on science, witchcraft, faeries, fear, awe, and stories from many categories to draw the reader into communion with the deeper world; beyond the mundane and into a world of meaning and enhanced awareness. Very inspirational.

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book wasn't quite what I was expecting, I didn't get past 40% just not for me this one.

[Celestial_dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me wonder!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my type of nonfiction but still a good book. Made me think and realize some aspects of my life. Thank you ,author.

[VI · Rating 4 out of 5]

whenever I felt like there’s no point, this book reminds me of how wondrous life is.

[Castles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Smartphones are evil, go take a walk in the woods. ok.

[Viviana Frascarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francesco Dimitri resta una garanzia. Grazie per questo meraviglioso viaggio.