Joy Lanzendorfer on Saying Something About Life and What It Means to Be Human

What’s the most important life lesson you’ve learned? Or: what was your last moment of awe?

Moment of awe: I was watering my garden when a hummingbird flew up and hovered beside me, about a foot away, for what seemed like a long time. The evening sun was hitting the patch of raspberry-colored feathers on his throat so that they shone like metal. I gasped. He gazed at me with stern eyes, then flew away.