DAY 6: Wow! (How to be Surprised Intentionally)

I love the word 'Wow'. The best proof of how much I like that particular word (and my twin can back me up) is that my daughter's first word was not 'mommy', 'ball', or 'no', but - you guessed it - 'Wow!'

You can imagine how excited I was when I read the title of this section in the book: "Say Wow When You See a Bus". I don't have to work at being thrilled. It's fun, and the great by-product is a useful bunch of energy.

I digress. So, the challenge:

Part A (as always): Go out and pick a leaf or a rock and bring it back inside. Study it for 5 minutes. Then write non-stop for 5 minutes describing it in detail. Go put the rock or leaf back outside. Could you find it again based on your description?

As every rock and leaf is covered by a lovely blanket of snow, I chose to pick a leaf of a plant inside my house. The plant hangs by the kitchen table and is the loveliest shades of beige, green, and purplish pink. The leaves are almost like slim hearts, without the turn inward. I picked a leaf that was all white, except for a green stripe on one side of the upper leaf, with a jagged white line through the green. The underside was a lovely shade of purplish pink.

In all honesty, there's no way I could find that leaf again, or least my confidence isn't great enough to believe that I can. I am such a visual person, I like to look at things - to observe. It's how I find my way to and from places. I don't pay attention to the street names, just the shops and gardens along the way. Interestingly enough, I rarely get lost. But I still don't think I could find that leaf again...

Part B: Quick - don't think - write down 5 objects that you see every day. (For the next 37 days whenever you see this item, say OUTLOUD, "Wow! A spatula!" and be delighted with it. Say it, feel it, like a 5 year old. Love your spatula.)

My list: toothbrush, computer mouse, wooden spoon, pen, key.

Result so far: I am doing my best to be aware of these objects when they cross my path. But I am usually thinking of something else, my mind busy with plans for the day, thinking ahead. I have caught myself with the toothbrush and wooden spoon, and it feels very silly when I call out, "Wow, a toothbrush!" and it makes me giggle. It's delightful.

Perhaps there's more though. I am going to try to be thrilled by things I don't like. "Wow! Look at this traffic! Yea, I get to listen to all my favorite songs!" "Cool! Another bill, it proves I live here! I'm a resident of Germany!" "Awesome! Laundry! I just love the smell of fresh laundry. Yeaaaaaa!!!!"

Give it a try, and tell me what happens.