You are a wonderful person? If you are unsure or interested in objective measures of this quality, please read this
INTRODUCTION
I realized the other day that you don’t have to be a wonderful person to think and act up to this high standard. Being wonderful sometimes is pretty good, although with a conscious effort you can be wonderful more often.
Do you personally know wonderful people other than your spouse, children, parents, or other family members? (I remove their eligibility because, after all, most of us probably want to think of loved ones in glowing terms, as nothing less than wonderful. This is the case even if one or more may seem considerably less than wonderful, i.e., a scoundrel, scoundrel, scoundrel or worm.)
Who do you know who comes close to your standards of wonderful people? (If you have a pen and paper nearby, write down the names.)
Most of us view any number of assorted historical figures as wonderful people, given what we know of them relative to our own values. Unfortunately, regardless of their historical or other achievements, it’s not easy to know with confidence what they really were like, character-wise, and this difficulty increases the further back in time they lived. Many world leaders, sports stars, Hollywood personalities, artists, and celebrities are associated with wonderful qualities. We might regard these luminaries as wonderful people, but this is not the same as actually getting to know one or two wonderful people, or many, up close and personal.
UNDERSTAND THE WONDER
What’s the wonder all about, you think? By wonderful, most people refer to someone who is exceptionally good, such as astonishing, impressive, astonishing, jaw-dropping, eye-opening, fabulous, prodigious, astounding, amazing, stupendous, sublime, astonishing, marvelous, and/or just plain awesome. You get the idea: wonder is a pretty high standard. If someone occasionally accuses you, in a nice way, of being wonderful, you probably feel pretty good about it. However, it would be better not to take such flattery seriously. You certainly don’t want anyone who’s said that about you to think you’re all for it! That would seem immodest, perhaps Trumpian, which is certainly not among the highest wonderful qualities.
Still, we admire those we think are wonderful, or at least have some wonderful qualities. We don’t always expect them to be wonderful (good and decent, yes) all the time because, despite their wonder, they are still human. But, we are delighted when they are wonderful in one way or another and we notice it. Each of those acts you witness strengthens your sense of its wonder.
Can we be wonderful in the way we live our lives, most of the time? The challenges to being awesome are myriad, including such harrowing, stressful, and vexing annoyances as the Republican Party, the coronavirus, crime, precipitous declines in the stock market, global warming, superstition in general, and religious fundamentalism in particular. and aging and death. , to point out just nine of at least thousands of threats to the search and enjoyment of wonder.
However, my opinion is that yes, of course we can be wonderful, more or less. However, it is more likely to be if we recognize and value the nature of wonder and realize ways to incorporate more of these qualities into our individual selves.
RECOGNIZING A REAL WELLNESS PERSPECTIVE IN MARAVILLOSO
Is there such a thing as a real wellness perspective on wonder?
No and yes! No, in the sense that there is no single REAL wellness perspective on wonder recognized by most Americans. Yes, in that there are many prospects for REAL wellness in the pursuit of wonder. To stimulate your consideration of such perspectives, I recommend three one-page reads, all short, memorable, and to the point.
The first is a speech delivered at the end of the 19th century by the great 19th century orator Robert Green Ingersoll titled The Improved Man. The second is a set of qualities describing secular humanism, available on the Research Center website. The third is found in the seven principles of the Satanic Temple. The members of the temple do not believe in any god or devil; his devotions are reason, tolerance, freedom and science, as well as compassion and justice.
While there are too many wonderful qualities to list, these three sources of such qualities identify enough elements to spark a glorious advance from anywhere on the terrible-to-wonderful continuum. We can all move to the right along this imaginary continuum, even if you are the Pope. Especially if you are the Pope!
While or after reading these wonderful qualities, ask yourself two questions:
1. How am I? Do I have some or perhaps most of the qualities mentioned?
2. Which of the qualities can I work on to embellish my already impressive degree of wonder?
Best of luck in finding your unique perspective on REAL wellness and manifestation of wonder.