Rediscover the Ordinary
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A strange thing happens when you see something every day: Eventually, you stop seeing it.
A building you once admired becomes part of your commute.
The trees on your block become background.
Your favorite coffee mug becomes something you reach for without thinking.
This tendency has been compounded by a culture that encourages us to move through life as efficiently as possible: We follow directions instead of wandering, put in headphones instead of listening to the world around us, and fill spare moments by looking at our phone.
As Ian Bogost writes in a new article, we’ve become so focused on making life more productive that we risk treating the present as mere preparation for whatever comes next.
Wonder can interrupt that habit, Bogost argues—not just the kind inspired by mountains or sunsets, but the kind available in ordinary things.
He describes noticing the warmth of a coffee mug, the crunch of gravel underfoot, and the clever engineering of a toaster.
Wonder, in this sense, is less about seeking out extraordinary experiences than it is about paying close attention to the ones already around you.
On Finding Wonder The Missing Ingredient of Modern Life By Ian Bogost Why we need wonder Read the article.
The Ordinary Miracle of Existing By Alan Lightman Being alive at all is the most extraordinary stroke of good luck any of us will ever experience.
Read the article.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.theatlantic.com — the content belongs to The Atlantic.
