Andrea Scher - Wonder Seeker: 52 Ways to Wake Up Your Creativity and Find Your Joy

I first met Andrea, the ultimate Wonder Seeker and finder (and the author of this book), in the nineties when she applied for a job at my creative company, then called Camp SARK. She shares the absolute wonder of that story in this book!

Knowing and loving Andrea has exponentially expanded my feelings of wonder in this world. Im so excited for you that her book has burst into your world to do the same.

If you have ever wondered how to have more joy and adventure in your life, this book is your portable magic maker, and its also like going on super fun adventures with Andrea. You will discover new things, attune to color, and experience the world as magicalwhich includes the real practical things too.

Andrea is a gifted storyteller and healer and is generous with her storiesshe gets vulnerable on your behalf and is willing to share some of the hard stuff so that you remember and know that you are not alone.

This book will show you pathways to joy that are both fun and easybut this isnt about looking only on the bright side or avoiding pain. Andrea is wise enough to know that we have the capacity to be with ALL of it, and shares how to continually seek wonder as part of that all. And all of the best things that we begin or do spring from that sense of wonder.

Andrea is one of those rare souls who see with love eyes and go into the dark and illuminate it.

Her spirit is fresh and bright, and shes that friend you knewor wish you knewwhen you were ten and found fairy paths in the forest near your house, and then wrote them tiny letters that you tucked into the moss near their homes. Now shes a powerfully evolved grown-up friend who consistently seeks and finds wonders and shows you how to do the same in your life.

This book will develop your WONDER EYES and show you how to see and experience so many wonders in your ordinary days too, and youll be sharing these gifts with all of the souls in your life.

Andrea is a deep and dear soul, and I am honored to call her my friend, and to have created this foreword for her book. Witnessing her life as an artist, writer, photographer, and mom is such a pure blessing; she just radiates love, and so does this book.

Welcome in to these inspiring, depthful, and sparkling-with-possibilities-for-you pages.

In this e-book edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response].

Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

What was your first experience of wonder?

For some, its the first time they saw the night sky on a camping trip. Or that time there were hundreds of tiny sand dollars strewn across the wet sand at the beach. For a friend, it was when her elementary school bus driver stopped the bus at the side of the road so they could all watch a cow giving birth in a field. For another, it was when her father built a kiln in a firepit at their campsite so they could make pottery.

We tend to lose this sense of wonder as we grow older. Perhaps its cynicism and stress that cloud our view. Maybe we are too busy and think that wonder is only for children. Maybe we think weve seen it all and nothing could surprise us anymore. But heres what I know: our capacity for wonder and delight is also the gateway to our joy.

It is vital to our aliveness. It is worth cultivating and honing because our lives become so much richer for it. It is a kind of love and attention. It is a reverence for our world. Its a celebration of being here and a desire to protect this place we call home.

I want you to remember your curiosity and your wide-eyed delight. I want you to know that you are a creative creature who can experience the magic of the everyday world. On one level, its a shift in attention. And a practice (just like seated meditation) where we continue to pull our focus back from the distractions, the noise, the chaotic swirl of our thoughtsback to the moment. To what is here. What there is to appreciate. What there is to delight in.

For me, Wonder Seeking has been an antidote to an anxious and sensitive system. I am a very anxious creature. It took me a while to figure this outthe shortness of breath, the ambient worryI didnt recognize it as anxiety at first but as a flaw in my character. Something that made me impossible to be with at timesoverly sensitive, agitated, unable to settle in my own skin.

I tried managing my anxiety with walking and yoga. These activities staved off panic and offered some relief, but it was creative practices that always helped the most. I could feel anxious for days, not able to take a full breath, but if I sat down and painted or walked around taking photos, the anxiety would lift almost immediately. Much of my creative life was born out of this need for art to be my medicine. Not only does it delight me and bring me so much joy, it also soothes my nervous system.

Even if youre not a particularly anxious creature, we are all living in a culture that has become increasingly more distracted, disconnected, and lonely. So many of us are settling for what psychologist and author Francis Weller calls counterfeit joysthe hit of dopamine we get when our phone dings or the likes we get on social mediainstead of real connection. We all want to feel more vibrant and alive, but were not quite sure where to even start.

While I am first and foremost an artist and a photographer, I am also a life coach. I love helping people use creativity to move through challenges with more ease, get clarity on their desires, and explore how to make their lives richer and more satisfying. I encourage my clients to become Wonder Seekers so they experience more everyday joy.

I define a Wonder Seeker as someone who actively looks for things that delight them. A Wonder Seeker is curious and kind, vibrant and open-hearted. A Wonder Seeker doesnt step over whats hard, only look on the bright side, or put on a happy face to avoid feeling whats painful. A Wonder Seeker knows that by turning toward whats difficult, by working with whats true (even when its hard), we become more brave and resilient.

The best part? We can train ourselves to be Wonder Seekers. We can learn to step out of our ordinary liveseven for just a moment or two each dayto witness the everyday magic. The key is where we put our attention.

• You will experience more gratitude for your life, just as it is, without changing a thing.
• You will notice more beauty in the world.
• You will begin filling your life with more color.
• You will be oriented toward kindnessboth to yourself and to others.
• You will create a habit of scanning for the good.
• You will be delighted more easily (and others will find you more delightful!).