Wonder and Resilience
They make you stop, if only for a second, and take in the world with fresh eyes.
There are moments in life when everything pauses—when time itself seems to stretch, and in that silence, something extraordinary happens. These moments don’t announce themselves. They arrive quietly, sometimes in the most ordinary circumstances. But in their simplicity, they carry a sense of wonder, a kind of stillness that touches you in ways you can’t fully explain.
I remember the first time I truly understood the beauty of silence. I was sitting under a tree in our backyard, watching the wind move through the leaves. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the day, but something about the way the light filtered through the branches, the way the shadows played on the ground, made me feel as if I was witnessing something sacred. It was as if the world had opened up, just for a moment, to reveal its quiet magic. That moment stayed with me, not because anything profound happened, but because it didn’t need to. It was the first time I realized that wonder is often found in the things we overlook, in the spaces we deem insignificant.
These moments of wonder are fleeting, but they leave a mark. They are the instances when you catch a glimpse of something beyond yourself—something vast, mysterious, and incomprehensible. They make you stop, if only for a second, and take in the world with fresh eyes. As a child, I was always searching for these moments, even if I didn’t fully understand why. There was a hunger in me for something more, a need to see the world as more than just a series of tasks or obstacles. I wanted to feel connected to something larger, to experience the awe that comes when you realize the world is much bigger than your own small life.
It’s in those moments, when everything feels like it’s falling apart, that I remember the verse:
مَّا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَمِيزَ ٱلْخَبِيثَ مِنَ ٱلطَّيِّبِ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْغَيْبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَجْتَبِى مِن رُّسُلِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
"Allāh would not leave the believers in that [state] you are in [presently] until He separates the evil from the good. Nor would Allāh reveal to you the unseen. But [instead], Allāh chooses His messengers whom He wills, so believe in Allāh and His messengers. And if you believe and fear Him, then for you is a great reward."
— [Aal ‘Imraan 3:179]
This verse has always spoken to me in the deepest of ways, especially during those times of hardship when I’ve felt lost, questioning why certain things were happening, or why I seemed to be bearing a burden heavier than others. But then, it would remind me that life's trials are not meant to break us, but to separate the good from the bad, the sincere from the insincere, the resilient from the weak.
When everything around me was chaotic, and it felt like the unseen was pressing in, I realised that these moments were meant to test and purify me. Not everyone can see the wisdom in hardship. It’s as though the world is filled with noise, and in the noise, we’re forced to either crumble or grow. I was learning, bit by bit, that resilience is not about waiting for the trials to end. It’s about believing that every moment of difficulty is carving something greater within me.
But wonder, like all things, is fleeting. It comes in waves, and just as quickly, it fades. The challenge is holding onto that sense of awe in a world that constantly tries to strip it away. Life isn’t always gentle. It doesn’t always offer up moments of wonder. More often than not, it gives you struggle, hardship, and pain. It tests you in ways you’re not prepared for, and slowly, as you face these challenges, something begins to change within you.
Resilience doesn’t form overnight. It’s not something you can wish for or build in a single moment of strength. It grows slowly, almost imperceptibly, in the quiet corners of your soul. It forms when you’re knocked down, and instead of staying there, you choose to get back up. It’s in the decision to keep moving forward, even when every part of you wants to give up.
My father used to say that strength is found in how you handle the things you can’t control. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp what he meant. But as I grew older, I began to understand. Life will throw things at you—things you never saw coming, things you never wanted. And in those moments, you have a choice: you can either let them break you, or you can let them shape you into something stronger.
Resilience is not about being unbreakable. It’s about breaking and choosing to rebuild, even when it feels impossible. It’s about standing in the ruins of your plans, your dreams, and your expectations, and finding the courage to start again. And the more you do this, the stronger you become. Not in a way that makes you invincible, but in a way that makes you more compassionate, more understanding of the struggles of others.
The wonder I found in my youth, in the quiet moments of watching the world, gave me the strength to face the harder parts of life. It was as if those moments of awe built a foundation within me, one that I could return to when everything else felt like it was falling apart. They reminded me that even in the midst of chaos, there is beauty. Even in pain, there is growth. And that, perhaps, is the essence of resilience—the ability to hold both wonder and suffering in the same breath, to recognize that they are both part of what it means to be alive.
I’ve learned that resilience is not something you arrive at. It’s a process, an ongoing journey. You don’t wake up one day and suddenly have it. It’s built through a lifetime of moments, both large and small, both painful and beautiful. It’s the result of every time you chose to keep going, every time you faced the darkness and refused to let it consume you.
And in the end, it’s the moments of wonder that keep you going. They are the reminders that life, despite its challenges, is worth living. That there is still beauty to be found, even in the most unexpected places. Wonder and resilience are intertwined, two sides of the same coin. One gives you the strength to endure, while the other reminds you why it’s worth enduring.