Of Gratitude and Wonder

So today I'm reading a David Brooks' column titled "The Arena Culture" in the NYT. It's about a new book "All Things Shining" by a couple of philosophers which "take[s] a smart, sweeping run through the history of Western philosophy". I love philosophy almost as much as I love science. Brooks mentions "Vico’s old idea that each age has its own lens through which people see the world". So of course I have to look up Vico. Turns out he was a 17th century Italian philosopher who had some ideas that may not have gained much traction in his own time but have aged well. Anyway, from time to time I read or stumble across something that reminds me anew how we stand on the shoulders of giants in many ways and I'm awed all over again at the potential of humankind. I need that occasionally to lift the gloomy, pessimistic thoughts that accumulate in my daily journey through life as I observe the infinity of stupidities we inflict on ourselves and others. Fortunately, I don't think I'm gloomy by nature and I'm easily distracted by marveling at the mysteries that lie all around us if we but pause to reflect. (Okay, I'm starting to ramble. Back to the column.)

He writes, " Dreyfus and Kelly (The authors of the book.) say that we should have the courage not to look for some unitary, totalistic explanation for the universe. Instead, we should live perceptively at the surface, receptive to the moments of transcendent whooshes that we can feel in, say, a concert crowd, or while engaging in a meaningful activity, like making a perfect cup of coffee with a well-crafted pot and cup.

We should not expect these experiences to cohere into a single "meaning of life." Transcendent experiences are plural and incompatible. We should instead cultivate a spirit of gratitude and wonder for the many excellent things the world supplies.

Not sure how much I would agree with Dreyfus and Kelly. I'm sure that living perceptively and receptively is terrific and useful, but I LIKE totalistic explanations. And my initial reaction to Brooks' "gratitude and wonder" comment was to think that gratitude and wonder is a poor substitute for understanding how things work. Then I had to reconsider as I thought of the sense of gratitude and wonder that infused this train of thought and so many others in my life. It has to be among the best that life has to offer. I wish everyone, including myself, could feel that more often.