Awe and Wonder

Awe and Wonder, 5/17/24

Greetings from Monteverde, 4,300 feet above sea level. Outside a steady rain is falling. The sound of the rain and the insects and rainforest critters is a perfect soundtrack for a Shabbat evening blog post. As advertised in the title of this post, today was a day filled with awe and wonder. 

Those of us who woke up early were treated to pristine views of the Arenal volcano. Those who woke up a little later found the volcano already enshrouded in whatever the technical name is for the vapor that emanates from active volcanoes. I could look up said term, but it’s Shabbat and I don’t feel like it. 

After yet another hearty breakfast, we took a short drive to a beautiful waterfall. While waiting for the group to disembark, many of us caught our first glimpse of a Costa Rican monkey. 500 steps later we found ourselves at the base of the waterfall. Many took off our shoes so we could wade in the refreshing water. When it comes to hiking, what goes down must come up. Huffing and puffing, we made our ascent. It wasn’t easy, but as luck would have it, humans are fairly well designed for going up and down stairs. 

Everyone was happy for a long bus ride, once again filled with majestic views of the sprawling Arenal lake, many mountains, hills, and valleys, and so much more. We grabbed a quick bite from a German owned cafe along the way, and eventually made it to the town of Santa Elena, in the Monteverde region. A bit of shopping took place before we finished our journey and arrived at our hotel. The hotel is more Kibbutz than it is hotel, with many buildings spread out over a vast area and also many amenities. For example, our night hike took place on the premises of the hotel. 

We delayed the start time of our night hike to try and avoid some anticipated rain. We should’ve known better, because the rain came just as we were setting out. Equipped with flashlights, we journeyed into the rainforest. Along the way we saw tarantulas, poisonous vipers, different types of frogs, and much more. It was a hit and it was a thrill to be out there, in the dark, stumbling upon creatures great and small. 

Awe and wonder are two emotions that Judaism has emphasized for thousands of years. The Hebrew word for awe encompasses not only a sense of jaw dropping amazement, but also a sense of fear, trembling, and recognition of our smallness and finitude in the presence of something much greater and often mysterious. As for wonder, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel joined a long line of Hasidic rabbis in recognizing that the experience of wonder is one of the most sacred gateways that a person can, with a little practice, regularly access on their spiritual journey. Awe and wonder. In a world full of screens, Amazon packages, and more than a little fear mongering and discord, we might do well to up our quotient of awe and wonder. 

If yesterday was a day full of appreciation for our own kind, aka human beings, today was a day full of appreciation for the natural world and our non-human friends. It was awesome and wonderful to witness our 8th graders absolutely delighting in seeing the creatures of the rainforest. You’d think they’d never seen a frog before. In fairness to them, it’s pretty darn special to see a venomous snake in the middle of a could forest while getting drenched by a downpour on Shabbat in Monteverde. At the same time, it’s not a bad idea for all of us to point out to them that the awe and wonder we experience in seeing a frog, a snake, or a millepede in the rainforest needn’t be reserved only for such rare and exotic encounters. We can experience that same wonder and awe when we look in the mirror. We can experience that same wonder and awe when we encounter (truly encounter) a classmate, teacher, friend, or parent. When we cuddle up with a family pet, admire in a flower in our garden, or see a beautiful Atlanta sunrise. How awesome and wonderful life could be, if, even just once in a while, we reserved some awe and wonder for the miracles and blessings that have become so familiar to us that we often forget how awesome and wonderful they are!  

One of the benefits of travel is that we gain perspective and often want to bring some of that perspective back home with us. If this post resonates with you, then awe and wonder might be a great place to start.