Woander

woan.der /ˈwän-dər/ (intransitive verb): to notice the world in a relaxed way or without any clear purpose, expressing awe and surprise as though you are seeing it for the first time.

It’s a word I coined to bring together the meanings attached to the words ‘wander’ and ‘wonder’.¹²

Woander happens when you allow yourself to interact with the world around you without any goal in mind. And you do this with gusto. With the illuminating eyes of a child, perceiving everything as though it is your first time.

Woander is what happens when you let yourself question why what caught your attention did so.

Woander fuels curiosity. It propels discovery.

To woander is to notice. Just to see. To observe, without inferring meaning.

When you woander, you resist the urge to be a collector. You resist the urge to document anything.

Instead, you experience each moment with awe as though it is a first. You watch as it slips away. And patiently, you experience the next. And let it go.

The urge to retain something is great. At least, something that helps us extract some meaning from the experience. Something that can serve as a souvenir. A picture, a landmark, a quote, or a few words.

Woandering is trusting that all the experiences build up in ways your conscious mind isn't equipped yet to understand. That your subconscious and the universe will find ways to bring to your remembrance whatever is important per time.

And when you find something you want to hold on to, it is fine to take a break from your woander and focus on that.

There are no constraints or limitations.

It’s always day 1.

1. I like the word ‘wander’, but it's often associated with being lost. However, when I wander, I'm not lost. Rather, I'm discovering. I'm immersing for the sake of it. I'm experiencing life with awe and surprise. I wanted a word that described that feeling along with the action. So, I created one. I hope you find it useful.

2. Not to be confused with the German word woanders.