Dawn's Notes
Seven Wonders - November 2017
by Dawn Phelps, RN/LMSW
Below is a short article which is accredited to an English teacher of thirty years in Muncie, Indiana. The teacher, Joy Garrison Wasson, died at the age of 62.
A group of students was asked to list what they thought were the Seven Wonders of the World. Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:
- Egypt’s Great Pyramids
- Taj Mahal
- Grand Canyon
- Panama Canal
- Empire State Building
- Saint Peter’s Basilica
- China’s Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noticed that one quiet student had not turned in her paper. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there are so many.”
The teacher said, “Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help.”
The girl hesitated, then read, “I think the Seven Wonders of the World are:
- To see
- To hear
- To touch
- To taste
- To feel
- To laugh
- And to love.
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
The girl’s list included things we take for granted every day—the simple, ordinary things most of us have been blessed with all of our lives. And it is not until we grow older and begin to lose some of these seven wonders that we recognize their value.
With aging, our senses may begin to diminish. We do not see as clearly and many develop poor eyesight due to macular degeneration, cataracts, or other problems. As hearing decreases, many seniors make visits to audiologists to purchase hearing aids that help them hear.
In our older years, we start to lose taste buds, so food may not taste the same as in previous years. A husband might think his wife is not cooking as well as she used to even though she is cooking the same way she did for years. He may be losing his sense of taste!
No matter what age one is, laughter is still important—something we can all do. If you think about it, what is the first thing we as adults try to get a baby to do? Smile.
We are thrilled to make a baby smile or hear a baby laugh out loud for the first time. So laughter is good for us all our lives—“good medicine.” And touch is important for all of us—hugs are good for the immune system, no matter what age we are.
“And to love”—the last wonder on the girl’s list. How does anyone make it through life without someone to love them? To me, that is the most important thing on the list. Our need to be loved is present from birth until we die. So if you have someone to love you, you are truly blessed. As First Corinthians says, “The greatest of these is love.”
During the month of November we usually think about the things for which we are thankful. It is easy to forget the things on the young girl’s list, easy to take them for granted. To see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to feel, to laugh and to love—yes, perhaps these are some of the biggest wonders of the world after all. Happy Thanksgiving!
Call about the next "Living Life after Loss" Group at:
Meadowlark Hospice
709 Liberty, Clay Center, Kansas
(785) 632-2225
Dawn Phelps, RN/LMSW, Group Facilitator