Learning to See Again: The Starry Night and the Practice of Wonder
"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."— W. B. Yeats
Before reading beyond this paragraph, spend a minute looking at Vincent van Gogh's painting The Starry Night. Resist the urge to interpret it. Simply notice what draws your eye. The swirling sky? The brilliant stars? The quiet village? The towering cypress reaching upward? What do you feel?
The first time I stood in front of the original painting, I expected to experience the familiarity of a picture I had viewed many times. Instead, I found myself unexpectedly moved. What surprised me most were the colors. Reproductions had never prepared me for their vibrancy. I remember thinking that Van Gogh seemed to see a world that most of us walk past every day. Perhaps that was his gift. Perhaps it is also his invitation.
Medicine has a way of training our attention toward problems. We learn to notice abnormalities, risks, missed diagnoses, and what needs fixing. Those skills matter enormously. But if we are not careful, our professional eyes can begin to see only what is broken. Wonder notices something different. It notices the patient who smiles despite heartbreaking news. The resident whose confidence quietly grows. The colleague who offers unexpected kindness after a difficult clinic. The sunrise over the parking lot before morning rounds. The privilege of being welcomed into another person's story.
Research increasingly suggests that awe and wonder are not luxuries; they are practices that expand perspective, increase gratitude, reduce stress, and strengthen our sense of connection to something larger than ourselves. Wonder doesn't deny suffering. It simply refuses to let suffering become the only thing we see.
Perhaps that is why The Starry Night still captures our imagination—and why, more than 80 years later, Don McLean would write a song trying to understand the man who saw the night that way. The village below is dark and quiet, yet Van Gogh’s eyes remain fixed on the brilliance above. He reminds us that darkness and beauty can occupy the same sky. This week, share The Starry Night with your PeerRx partner or another colleague. Ask one another: What filled you with wonder this week that you almost missed? Our lives are shaped not only by what we look at, but by what we learn to see. No one should live in wonderment alone.