A strange thing happens when you see something every day: Eventually, you stop seeing it. A building you once admired becomes part of your commute. The trees on your block become background. Your favorite coffee mug becomes something you reach for without thinking.

This tendency has been compounded by a culture that encourages us to move through life as efficiently as possible: We follow directions instead of wandering, put in headphones instead of listening to the world around us, and fill spare moments by looking at our phone. As Ian Bogost writes in a new article, we’ve become so focused on making life more productive that we risk treating the present as mere preparation for whatever comes next.

Wonder can interrupt that habit, Bogost argues—not just the kind inspired by mountains or sunsets, but the kind available in ordinary things. He describes noticing the warmth of a coffee mug, the crunch of gravel underfoot, and the clever engineering of a toaster. Wonder, in this sense, is less about seeking out extraordinary experiences than it is about paying close attention to the ones already around you.

On Finding Wonder

The Missing Ingredient of Modern Life

By Ian Bogost

Why we need wonder

Read the article.

The Ordinary Miracle of Existing

By Alan Lightman

Being alive at all is the most extraordinary stroke of good luck any of us will ever experience.

Read the article.

The Cult of Delayed Gratification Is a Lie

By Ian Bogost

The sensory enchantment of everyday life can upend the bland monotony of our overly optimized, anodyne world.

Read the article.

Want more wonder in your days? Sign up for Ordinary Extraordinary, Ian Bogost’s newsletter on making everyday life vivid.

Still Curious?

• The quiet profundity of everyday awe: That feeling—of being in the presence of something vast—is good for us. And, counterintuitively, it can often be found in completely unremarkable circumstances, Dacher Keltner wrote in 2023.
• The hidden cost of optimizing everything: Ian Bogost talks with Charlie Warzel on his podcast, Galaxy Brain, about how technology is disconnecting us from life’s small pleasures.

Other Diversions

• Gloria Steinem: “Everything we do matters.”
• How “somatics” became the solution to modern life
• The dark side of mindfulness

PS

My colleague Isabel Fattal recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. Last week, Nick M. shared a picture of Yosemite National Park on a summer morning.

We’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks.

— Rafaela