Wonder Day 1.26.15 - Barrie Jean Barrett

I am kinder to myself. 

Wonder Day 1.23.15

One positive change I want to make in my life is to be happy and not live for others but for myself and achieve everything I want to in life.

I feel that I tend to fall into deep depressions or anxieties due to caring more for others than myself, I tend to stray away from the things I love or lose sight of the more pressing matter because of other people’s problems.

To work towards my happiness I have been expressing myself more in my art, trying to make the best out of every situation and learn so that I can achieve more in the future. As well as getting outside help for my depression.

I feel like everything is working out and the things that weren’t coming together, are.

I also have been looking at the people I have been hanging out with, and haven’t liked what I have seen, so I plan on changing the people I hang out with as well. So that I can become the successful and happy person I know I am, one with a soul that is at rest.

I hope my card reflects this. The background can be interrupted as my dreams, the centerpiece is where I want to be, and the side pieces go from top left (first picture) to the top right (last picture), slowly going into color as I grow and become the person I want to be (center picture). - art academy student, Parsons the New School for Design

Wonder Day 1.22.15 - Bretton Varga

I love books. Just as traveling to a different country in the world brings its inherent wisdom, I believe there is knowledge to be gained from reading any book.

I read a book that took place during the Victorian Era about a lost poet who was in the process of re-purposing his life to exact revenge on his adulterous wife. Entertaining read, but there is a chapter title that has always stuck with me and has greatly influenced how I live my life: Omnia Mutantuar. Everything Changes.

In life, there are many things that you have the power of control over, but also, at the same time, many facets that are far beyond your reach. You cannot expect to be the same person or re boot relationships to where they were in the past. Everything changes. Life is a river and while we may at times try to swim upstream, we need to accept that fact that we are in constant motion and everything around us is shifting, teeming, contracting, morphing and becoming something new. Acceptance is not something that is easy, but by learning to accept this notion of perpetual deviation, I have learned how to be happier with not just the choices within my control, but more importantly how to happily digest events that are occurring around me. I guess you could say it is learning how to control the uncontrollable. Or at least, accepting that it is not something that can be controlled and just sitting back and admiring the beauty that always accompanies the unexpected.

Bretton Varga 

Image credit - snake shedding skin to grow

Wonder Day 1.21.15

A thing I would like to change is to try to stop arguing with my parents and not talk back. 

The thing I would like to change is to not argue with my parents and to have a better concept that what they're telling me will help me in life and to understand that what they are saying is to not do bad things and to make right choices. - middle school student

Wonder Day 1.20.15 - Joni Boyd Acuff

The most significant positive change I made recently in my life was to simply slow… down…. I am always on the move and I rarely even think about what I am doing—like a zombie on autopilot.

People ALWAYS, and I do mean ALWAYS, ask me, "How do you do it with three kids, a husband, and a full time academic job?" My answer is always, "I don't think about it, I just do it. If I think about it, I might go crazy."

Well about 6 months ago, I began feeling really hit by all of the on-the-go and lack of "consciousness."  My not feeling almost caused a mental breakdown….well, to be honest, it DID cause a mental breakdown. 

I have come to realize it is important to think about what I do and how I feel about it, otherwise the bottled up feelings will come out whether you want them to or not.

I.WAS.EXHAUSTED.

I realize that I should reflect and appreciate the things that I do and the sacrifices I make because this makes me realize that I need to carve out time for making sure I am emotionally and mentally sound. I realize this is for my benefit, and also for my kids, husband, and colleagues.

My thinking about myself and what I do has really led to some transformative happenings, like pulling out my art materials and creating for a couple hours a week, maybe as little as 30 minutes a day. The result has been incredible. My kids find me happier, tenure no longer runs my life, and I have found that I communicate just a wee bit better with my husband.

This change happened only months ago, during the summer break from teaching at the university. This transitional thinking was easier to do during that summer period, but I am continuously working hard to keep this consciousness in the forefront of my living throughout the fall semester and beyond. 

I don't want to be on autopilot. I feel like that status has caused me to miss SO much, especially the milestones of my children. I love to see my youngest child laugh, and pout, and stumble around as his motor skills develop. Unfortunately, I cannot recall appreciating this much with my first two children. However, now, I stop and stare, and that makes me happy.

I think that all women should, especially full time moms and family providers, stop for a minute, breathe and feel, really feel. Look at the sky, look at the grass, feel water running through your fingers, and just be conscious. I cannot believe it took me so long to get here, but I am so glad that I did.

Joni Boyd Acuff, PhD - Assistant Professor of Arts Administration, Education & Policy, The Ohio State University

Wonder Day 1.19.15

I would like to change how I don't tell people what my feelings are sometimes and keep to myself and feel sad. I think I could start with telling my family and then when I get comfortable, I can tell other people who are close to me. - middle school student