Thirsty for Wonder

"Contemplative life flows in a circular pattern: awe provokes introspection, which invokes awe. Maybe you're making dinner and you step outside to snip chives from the kitchen garden just as the harvest moon is rising over the easterslopes. She is full and golden, like one of those pregnant women who radiate from within. Suddenly you cannot bear the beauty. Scissors suspended in your hand, tears pooling at the corners of your eyes, you nearly quit breathing. Your gaze softens, and the edges of your individual identity fade. You are absorbed into the heart of the moon. It feels natural, and there is no other place youd rather be. But the onions are burning, and so you turn away and cut your herbs and go back inside. You resume stirring the sauce and setting the table.


This is not the first time you have disappeared into something beautiful." 

Mirabai Starr shares more in this excerpt from her book, "Wild Mercy."