Wonder Day 8.21.15

Stop taking life for granted. My positive change was that I stopped taking life for granted because life is a privilege and life can just be taken from someone anytime. That's why you should spend time with your family. - intermediate student, Michigan USA

Wonder Day 8.14.15 - Vanessa Rivera

Upon graduation I began to get really worried about my future. I questioned if I would live up to the standards I held myself up to and the reputation I built in the eyes of others. I battled hard and even started to feel depressed, like my life wasn't going to be as great as I imagine it to be. At the same time, I battled detachment from someone that was important in my life. Thinking about this person took me into a past that no longer exists and thinking about my future did the same.

Through living in a state of gratefulness, I find that all the things I want to happen in my life manifest themselves. The energy of gratefulness puts us in a place where we are ready and able to receive. Some days are still hard and I still battle with these thoughts, but the time span is now shorter because I am aware. I am responsible for my happiness. - Vanessa Rivera

Image: Vanessa Rivera. Cortona, Italy.

Wonder Day 5.1.15

A positive change I have made in my life is that I have become more responsible. I used to be irresponsible and not have good manners. I have had to do a lot of things to become a better person. I used to have friends that would always get sent to the office for being bad. Now I know that being friends with those kind of people will get me nowhere good in life. They will just get me in trouble. I also used to not have good manners. I would not say thank you or sorry if I did something. I would just keep doing what I was doing. Now I have learned to be grateful for things I get because some people could not be able to even get what I get. I have also become more mature. I used to goof off a lot in class but now I do not as much. - middle school student, NC

Wonder Day 4.29.15

One positive change I will make will be more grateful to others around me. This will impact my life because if you show gratitude to others you will receive it back and it'll feel good. I will do this by saying thank you more often. I will also learn to appreciate things more and not take them for granted. - middle school student, TX

Wonder Day 3.5.15 - Maureen O'Connor Saringer

Magpie at Hanuman Temple, Maureen O'Connor Saringer, photographer

It is so easy for me to over-analyze this, and look for something new that no one has said yet. Something profound and quote-worthy. But the simple truth is that the one thing that has effected the greatest positive change in my life is yoga.

I am not a naturally bendy person, and I started yoga quite by accident. A friend had been attending a Pilates class at a local rec center, and showed up one day to discover that her class had been cancelled. She noticed people with yoga mats, and she followed them around the corner to discover an open-hearted yoga teacher who welcomed her into the group. When my friend began to rave about the class, I decided to try it.

Nearly 10 years have passed since I began. I still have trouble with many poses that lots of people can do almost right away. But I have learned that yoga is much more than just the physical practice. Sure, it's about the bending, twisting, stretching, and getting upside down. But it's also about the quiet, the looking inward, the pausing. Learning to be kind to yourself. Breathing. Seeing without judging. Noticing. 

The yoga studio where I practice is one of my most sacred spaces, and I am grateful for my teacher and my fellow students, with whom I share this great journey. 

Maureen O'Connor Saringer

Wonder Day 2.10.15 - Paula Hutchinson

The one thing that has shaped me the most is choosing to practice gratitude on a daily basis.  Every time I express my gratitude, I feel moved by the act of sharing my appreciation of the gifts in my life.  It is amazing that when my heart is full my expression of gratitude for that goodness amplifies into joy.

Equally astounding is that the act of finding something to be grateful for can turn my sour mood around.  The gratitude expressions themselves don’t even need to be anything special.  In fact, when I’m out of sorts, my gratitude litany has included fairly grumpy gratitudes. For example, I’m grateful I don’t have to spend my whole day doing the horrible rotten thing I’m doing in this moment.

It doesn’t matter how the words sound.  It matters that I express my gratitude and that I recognize some element of positive energy and goodness at work in my life.  Whether written or verbal, private or shared, gratitude always changes me for the better.

Paula Hutchinson