It's okay to wonder a little but don't wander a lot
Wondering and wandering are homophones; words that sound like each other however have a different meaning and different spelling from one another. These are the two words in the English dictionary that I’ve found most fascinating as I used to be guilty of using both words incorrectly. When I meant wonder I meant wander, when I meant wander I meant wonder. Just as I’ve been guilty of using both words incorrectly, many of us have been guilty of wandering into the future when our intention was to wonder about the future.
When we’re wondering about the future, we’re speculating about what may happen, allowing us to prepare ourselves for the worst and plan for the best. Meanwhile, when we’re wandering into the future, we’re travelling to a destination that may not even exist by the time we get there in reality.
The ramifications of wandering could be upsetting to our present and future selves. Indeed, we forget our current blessings as our thoughts have travelled to an unfortunate future destination where our lives have been tainted with mishaps that may nor may not even occur. We also subject ourselves to the risks of disappointment because within our excitement for the fortunes of the future, there’s an expectation that things will go well. When we finally reach the point we’ve wandered into and find that actually, our expectations haven’t been met, we’re discontented. All because we wandered.
Is wandering into the future worth the present and future sadness and heartbreak when the future we ruminate about isn’t even guaranteed to exist by the time we get there?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to wonder a little but don’t wander a lot.
I’ve definitely been guilty of A) confusing the two, lol. And B) doing a little too much wondering AND wandering. I’m finding that trusting God’s plans for me have alleviated a lot of both honestly. It’s still fun to imagine, but I find that I’m a lot less likely to just “end up” somewhere because I wandered off the path of letting Him tell me where to go / what to do, which I used to do a lot. Loved the piece!
I’ve often confused the two—wandering and wondering. Sometimes we wonder so much that we end up wandering off track.