A Year of Sundays: The Fifteenth Sunday (4/13/25) – The Gift of Beginner’s Mind

This week wrapped me in the sweet embrace of childlike wonder—a much-needed reminder that life’s magic often lives in the unanswered questions. Between unpredictable spring weather (“Why is it 75° one day and 45° the next?”), the mysterious alchemy of hatching eggs (“How does that tiny embryo know how to grow?”), and the aerodynamics of a simple ball (thank you, Rocket Science for Babies), I found myself wide-eyed with curiosity all over again.

Our family’s chicken-hatching adventure became this week’s masterclass in wonder. As I candled the eggs each evening, watching for the spiderweb of veins that signals life, I thought about how much we don’t control—yet how much beauty exists in that surrender. Only one of our twelve eggs developed an embryo, a humbling reminder that nature operates on her own wisdom. The Self-Love Workbook for Women (Amador, 2021) would call this “sacred curiosity”—the practice of embracing not-knowing as an act of self-trust (p. 89).

Speaking of rocket science: reading Chris Ferrie’s (2017) board book with my grandchildren (Rocket Science for Babies), I had a revelation worthy of Newton’s apple. When we changed the book’s cardboard “ball” into a teardrop shape, suddenly the concept of aerodynamics made visceral sense. Ferrie’s genius lies in distilling complex truths to their essence—much like the Japanese concept of shoshin (beginner’s mind), where approaching life without preconceptions unlocks fresh joy (Suzuki, 1970, p. 21).

This week, I’m playing with two practices from the science of awe (Keltner & Haidt, 2003):

1. Daily “Hmm” Moments: Noticing when my eyebrows lift involuntarily (yesterday’s: realizing our chick embryo’s heartbeat was visible on day 7!)

2. Wonder Walks: Moving slowly enough to spot “ordinary miracles” (dandelions breaking through concrete, spiderwebs jeweled with dew)

As Amador (2021) writes, “Self-love grows in the soil of attention” (p. 112). The more I cultivate this wide-eyed presence—whether marveling at physics or the resilience of a growing chick—the richer life becomes. Not because the mysteries are solved, but because I remember how to delight in them.

Try This Week:

• Ask a “Naive” Question: Channel your inner 5-year-old (“Why are clouds fluffy?”)

• Celebrate One “Small Wonder” Daily: The way steam curls from your coffee, a stranger’s unexpected kindness

• Hatch Something: Literal (herbs from seed) or metaphorical (a new creative project)

References

Amador, M. (2021). Self-love workbook for women. Rockridge Press.

Ferrie, C. (2017). Rocket science for babies. Sourcebooks Explore.

Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17(2), 297-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930302297

Suzuki, S. (1970). Zen mind, beginner’s mind. Weatherhill.

P.S. My favorite wonder this week? Discovering our developing chick’s beak was already visible at day 10. Nature’s engineering is breathtaking. What made your inner child gasp with delight recently?

(P.P.S. For fellow chicken enthusiasts: “Incubation and Embryo Biology” by Freeman and Vince (1974) explains those egg mysteries—just ask!)