How to Reignite Your Sense of Wonder as an Adult

Most of us don’t even realize it’s happening.

We go from feeling everything deeply — the magic, the awe, the beauty in the small moments — to barely feeling anything at all. Life becomes a cycle. We wake up, we work, we scroll, we sleep. We stop pausing to look at the sky. We stop asking questions we can’t Google. We forget what it feels like to feel moved.

But wonder doesn’t disappear. It just gets quieter.

And when the world is this loud, it’s no surprise we lose touch with it.

You might think you’ve outgrown wonder. That it’s something for children or poets or people with more free time. But the truth is, wonder isn’t a luxury — it’s a need. A part of you goes dark without it.

If you’ve felt emotionally flat, overstimulated, or like your days blur into one another, you’re not broken. You’re just disconnected from something essential. You’ve been surviving in a world that makes it hard to feel.

But there’s still a way back.

Not through escape. Not through fixing. Just through remembering.

Wonder lives in the quietest places — in the glint of morning light on a wall, the breeze brushing your face during a walk, or a song that unexpectedly brings tears to your eyes. It doesn’t ask for anything from you but your presence.

When you begin to notice again, you begin to feel again.

Let yourself do small things with no purpose. Go for a walk with no phone. Watch the sky change color as the sun sets. Sit in silence for five minutes, even if it makes you squirm. These moments might seem pointless, but they’re doing something deeper — they’re softening you. Reconnecting you. They’re reminding your nervous system what peace feels like.

Ask questions again. Not to solve — but just to wonder. Why does time speed up as we age? Why does music move us? Why do some moments feel more alive than others?

Don’t rush to answer. Just let the question open something.

And go back to the things that once stirred something in you. The books, the stories, the songs, the sky. Those weren’t passing interests. They were your language. Let them speak to you again.

You’re not numb because you’ve changed. You’re numb because the noise got too loud.

But under the numbness, you’re still here. You’re still capable of wonder, of presence, of waking back up.

If this resonates, I wrote a deeper, more complete version of this piece on The Benevolentia Journal. It’s a space for honest, grounding reflections — written for people who are healing, searching, and trying to remember what really matters.

You can read the full version here, if it feels right to you:

👉 How to Reignite Your Sense of Wonder as an Adult — Benevolentia Journal

No pressure. No urgency. Just an open door.

You’re not too far gone. You’re not too late.

You’re just remembering how to feel again.

– Devin ✨