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The Naked Now

Richard Rohr (2009)

Chapter Six: Glimpses of Wonder

The Quest is Begun

Wondering is a word connoting at least three things:

Standing in disbelief Standing in the question itself

Standing in awe before somethingTry to let all three standings remain open inside of you.

This is a very good way to growas long as the disbelief moves beyond mere skepticism or

negativity.

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When Scholarlistic philosophy was at its best (in the 12th

and 13 Centuries), the development of

an idea proceeded by what the great teachers called the questio(Latin, to seek). Our English

word quest may come from that understanding

The systematic asking of questions opened up wonder and encouraged curiosity by drawing out

pros and cons for answers to the question, thus refining the question itselfinstead ofjust

looking for the perfect answer.

Unfortunately, in later centuries this practice degenerated to just needing answers. And

preferably certain answers. And preferably about everything.

We have moved from wondering to answering, which has not served us well at all.

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Lets start wonderingagain

I have wondered why the major religions rarely produce many active peacemakers.

I have wondered why atheism is most common in Christian and Western cultures, and why

formerly religious people are often the most anti-religious.

I have wondered why many people close down any threatening discussion by searching quickly

for a single but.

I have wondered why political thinking is sojingoistic and seems little able to work toward

consensus or the common good.

I have wondered why the reasons to most wars in history reasons that seemed so compelling

at the time look foolish, wrong, or often nave to later generations.

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Perhaps you have asked yourselfsimilar questions:

Why do so many people have a clearer idea of what they are against than what they are for?

You might wonder why, in politics, we call people strong simply because they never change

their mind.

You wonder why the same story line of good guys and bad guys is the narrative of most movies,novels, operas, and theater.

You wonder why people who hate religion tend to attack it with the same dogmatism they hate

in religion.

If youve ever wondered about questions like this, I invite you to sit with your wonder.

Instead of letting your disbelief harden into skepticism or negativity, let yourself wonder feel

awe in the presence of these insights into the way all of us think.

What does this teach us about the human condition?

What can it teach you about yourself?

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(Adapted from: Rohr, Richard, 2009, The Naked Now, The Crossroad Publishing Company)