Bewilderment is the beauty of getting lost; experiencing the
moments of euphoric wonder in uncharted territory, the mystery of the loss of
bearing and boundaries, and the perplexity and awe of the inconceivable, mind
blowing truths and coxes the world throws at us. When the spiral spins it
seemingly appears and disappears into thin air; bewilderment. That moment when
you figure out the maze and think about the infinite many detours/solutions the
maze holds; bewilderment. When you gaze up at night and get lost in the
constellations and thoughts of your size compared to the twinkling stars and if
there really is an end to the seemingly endless black velvet landscape that
covers the sky; bewilderment.
In my opinion, “Bewilderment,” talks more of the importance
of bewilderment than that of certainty. Though I think both are very important,
the emphasis on bewilderment in this essay made its importance more obvious to
me. Certainty is imperative when making certain decisions. There are times when
we need guarantees, concrete facts and rock solid barriers and boundaries to
feel secure in our decision. We cannot
always blindly make decision and run into situations with no certainty of the
out come or certainty of the layout. Sometimes we need a map. On the other hand,
bewilderment is the divergence of life. It is the breaking down of concrete walls;
it exposes “the weaknesses from the bottom up, the conspiracies, the lies, the
plans, the false rhetoric.” Howe describes it as “grassroots that imitates the
way grass bends and springs back when it is stepped on. It won’t go away but
will continue asking irritating questions to which it knows all the answers.”
Bewilderment is necessary because we need to look past the walls and out side
the box. If we stay comfortably inside its cardboard barriers then nothing will
ever change. Life is about taking chances, making mistakes and discovering and
experiencing new things. All of these actions root from bewilderment and its
dare to dream and get lost. “This walk into the wilderness is full of falls and
stumbles and pains,” but it is to each their own if the wonders out weigh the possible
risks.
Bewilderment is something that I think can change depending on each person’s opinion. I think that bewilderment can be thought of as when someone says that something is “mind blowing”. They are considered to be the same feeling because when something is mind blowing or bewildering you are simply left speechless and in awe. There is a sense of euphuism that comes along with bewilderment. Bewilderment can be thought of as one of the strongest feelings us humans can have in our lifetime. It is unlike anything else that we experience and I think this is partly due to the fact that it is rare for us to truly become fully bewildered. I think that in the essay by Fanny Howe, it explains how the importance of bewilderment plays a role in our lives. Bewilderment also means uncertainty and this is how humans learn things and lessons in life. It is also how we go above and beyond. Steve Jobs, the founder of apple, did not become so successful because he created something that was similar to what others created. He became successful because he stepped out of the box and did something completely different than anyone had ever seen. There was uncertainty in his decisions but this is why he learned. He may have failed with some of his products but he learned and came back with things that were new and improved. We can relate this example in all of our lives. Bewilderment is not something that should be looked upon in a negative light but simply in a positive one.
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