Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God.

Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television.

– Paul Hawken

This quote made me think about the meaning of life, and the wonder and magic we have deep within us. I often experience memory vignettes of episodes of my youth, triggered perhaps by a song, or a particular smell, or some long-forgotten object in a box. The memory often brings back a feeling of wonder and awe I experienced at the specific time.

That wonder, that awe, seems to wear off as we get older. We still have awesome moments, but somehow they don’t have the same awesomeness and fire they once had.

A friend emailed me a link to this video. There has not been much rain here in California, as I recently wrote. So when I saw this little girl, who obviously experienced rain for the first time in her life, I could not help but think of the quote above – and what amazing feelings we’d have if we saw stars for the first time.

It is important to hold on to those feelings, those moments, learn from the children that have not been jaded, and experience every day as if it was the last one we have – or the first one.

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