# wonder and astonishment > The chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished. > > — [Kevin Kelly](https://kk.org/thetechnium/103-bits-of-advice-i-wish-i-had-known/) Stuff about finding amazement in the world and how it leads to [[inspiration]]. This leads to [[curiosity]]. To find astonishment, it helps to cultivate a [[beginners mind]]. Add in stuff about awe: finding something bigger than our mind can comprehend. It forces us to deal more directly with the experience because we literally have no mental schemas to fall back on to understand what we are seeing. Expanding into new experiential territory opens up new possibilities for making connections. The ability to be captivated by something interesting, astounding, surprising. The [[curiosity]] to ask "Why?" and care about the answer. The surprise and admiration of experiencing something larger than expected or understood. To experience the every day phenomena that others take for granted, which is available in every moment with the right eyes and mindset. > I was reminded that aesthetic beauty is as much about how and whether you look as what you see. From the quark to the supernova, the wonders do not cease. It is our attentiveness that is in short supply, our ability and willingness to do the work that awe requires. > > — John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed --- tags: #creativity #process #mindset home: [[! creative mindset]]