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The Importance of Wonder
What I Learned from a Magical Trip to Disney World
For the holidays, my husband and I traveled to Disney World. Originally, I had planned the trip as a lark, expecting it to be amusing and a good time but not much more than that. My husband had never been, and I had some nostalgic anticipation of reliving childhood memories spent in the park with my family. But the trip ended up being one of the best of our lives and a revelation. It was the most enjoyable experience, in the literal sense of the word, that I have had in a very long time — but more importantly, it taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of retaining wonder and imagination as we cross into adulthood and beyond.
We are not thrill chasers and for the most part avoided the rollercoasters that others line up for hours to ride. Instead, what we enjoyed was the immersive experience of being part of different worlds populated by richly imagined characters and creatures that we could interact with and witness their play. We watched parades, ate at themed restaurants, and embarked on slow-boat journeys into lands like Pandora and fairy tale wonderlands like that of Peter Pan and Snow White. Every night, we watched fireworks explode across the sky in a symphony of color and light, accompanied by inspirational voice-over messages. And even though I eventually memorized the script, I still felt that same sense of — here’s the word again — wonder as I did the first time.
Disney World is most strongly associated with children, and for good reason. The hallmark of childhood is the capacity for imagination and wonder, to believe without question, to be totally immersed in the experience of play that is not play but reality — this is the innocence of childhood. As we grow up into adults, we gradually lose this capacity as we become jaded through reality. Those of us who do not, though, those of us who hold onto that power of imagination and wondering what if — those of us become artists and authors and innovators and discoverers.
It is therefore vitally important to grow up, to understand the nature of reality and develop a healthy skepticism, to not become too gullible or delusional, to become fully functional adults, but at the same time, to preserve that innate capacity for imagination and wonder.