by Kathie England

People with Imagination and Wonder

“On the news: almost all the hurts we see are caused by a person’s lack of imagination – a lack of curiosity about their fellow human beings – a lack of wonder.”

These are the words that poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil* spoke at Portland Arts and Lectures on April 18, 2024.

“When wonder is a practice you feel less alone.”

To create a practice of wonder, Aimee invited us to ask ourselves these questions:
“What do you love?”

“What do you fear?”

“What do you wonder about?”

“Can you name 5 things you are curious about?”

“What if we shared these and created fellowship and community in our classrooms and homes?”

“By seizing these chances to explore and take notice, we can deepen our understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things and develop a greater sense of respect for the natural world.”

To think about asking these questions, we may experience fear and that’s really OK!

When we experience fear of doing something like asking these questions of ourselves, let alone asking them of others, I invite us to ponder the words of Chinese writer Lu Xun written more than a century ago. “Hope is like a path in the countryside. Originally, there is nothing – but as people walk this way again and again, a path appears.”


Lu Xun’s words were shared by Nicholas Kristoff in his June 1, 2024 column in The New York Times.

Lu Xun’s words reminded me of an analogy by David Rock, founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, about how we create new neural pathways. Rock talks about creating a new path in the forest as analogous to creating a new neural pathway. It’s slow-going at first, but the more frequently we go down this path, the easier it becomes.

Taking these steps, small and perhaps scary at first, creates a new neural pathway that could help us “deepen our understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things and develop a greater sense of respect for the natural world.”


Who We Can Be

The words of hope by Brené Brown that I shared last month still seem timely.

  • “Hope is a way of thinking – a cognitive process.”
  • “Hope is a function of struggle – we develop hope not during the easy or comfortable times, but through adversity and discomfort.”
  • “It is also important to know that hope is learned.”

Who Can We Be?

Perhaps we can be people with imagination and wonder if we remember the perspectives and words of Brené Brown, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Lu Xun.

“Hope is like a path in the countryside. Originally, there is nothing – but as people walk this way again and again, a path appears.”

*Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the author of four collections of poems, poetry editor of SIERRA, the national magazine for the Sierra Club, was awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, and is professor of English and creative writing in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program. Her books of poetry include Oceanic, Words of Wonder, and At the Drive-in Volcano.