from bewilderment to agency, meaning, and Story (Wonder Dispatch 03.02.25)
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Hi, there!
I’ve been wondering: What if the biggest disruptions in your life weren’t just obstacles but the raw material for your most powerful Story?
In the past week, three people have reached out, shaken by sudden changes in their work and identity. They’re in the middle of what I’d call a Tornado Moment—that bewildering space where old narratives collapse before a new one takes shape.
These moments—Tornado Moments—tear through the narratives we tell ourselves: “I am a founder.” “I am an executive.” “I am a creative.” And when the storm passes, we don’t just need to rebuild. We need to make sense of what happened.
That’s where Story comes in.
We all face these moments. The question is: How do you turn disorientation into meaning—and meaning into momentum?
In this week’s Wonder Dispatch:
how people navigate Tornado Moments and shape them into impactful Stories
resources from Substack, podcasts, and elsewhere aimed to help you on your quest
From Kansas to Oz and Beyond
In the movie version of The Wizard of Oz, a tornado lifts Dorothy from her familiar Kansas farm into the bewildering Technicolor world of Oz. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” she says, unaware of what lies ahead. Stories like Oz, Wonderland, and Narnia remind us that upheaval—though unsettling—offers opportunities for transformation.
Wonder, at its essence, challenges the fixed roles we define ourselves by. As cognitive neuroscientist Kelly Bulkeley notes, wonder disrupts our ordinary sense of identity, opening us to new understanding and reinvention. Unlike emotions like humiliation or disgust, which entrench our egos, wonder dissolves rigid boundaries, making space for growth.
We all experience Tornado Moments—unexpected, disorienting events that shake our sense of control. Have you had one? How did you respond? Did you blame yourself? Or did you, at some point, turn fear into fascination? When we pursue a more creative, resilient life, then venturing into the unknown can make us want to retreat to the familiar. Sometimes, though, the best thing we can do is pause, acknowledge the confusion, and fully feel it.
From Adversity to Awe to Agency
In his new book Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life (Penguin), Shigehiro Oishi, PhD, lays out research on how psychologically rich experiences offer “the third pillar” of fulfillment in addition to happiness and meaning.
What’s essential, Oishi notes, is that amidst these bewildering experiences, we must find moments to reflect and make meaning of them. My wonder colleague Scott Barry Kauffman suggests something similar in a recent Psychology Today article about moving from being “trauma-informed” to being “adversity-resilient.” In my work with clients and teams, we explore ways to move from adversity to agency.
Walden Reimagined, Life Reimagined
You could wake up in the middle of the woods in the middle of your life and not know where you are, who you are, where you’re going next, or who you might become.
By 37, Tracy Fullerton was a pioneer in the male-dominated world of interactive digital media. As founder and president of Spiderdance, Inc., she developed groundbreaking interactive television programming for MTV, NBC, and the History Channel—work that earned her an Emmy nomination. Her future in the burgeoning digital world looked bright—until the dot-com bubble burst, taking her business with it.
In that upheaval, Fullerton faced a defining question: Who was she beyond her professional success? While peers scrambled for stability, she did something radical—she paused. She chose to sit with uncertainty rather than escape it.
Seeking clarity, she revisited a place that had inspired her childhood imagination: Walden Pond, where Henry David Thoreau had retreated to question convention and craft a life of meaning. Wandering the same woods, she had a bold What If? moment: What if a video game could be contemplative instead of chaotic? What if it could spark reflection rather than adrenaline? What if it were inspired by Walden itself?
You might have had your own dot-com bust moment.
This “fertile confusion” fueled her next chapter. Fullerton didn’t have immediate answers, but she lived her questions. In 2008, as director of USC’s Game Innovation Lab, she gathered a team of like-minded creatives. Lacking funding, they began by immersing themselves in Thoreau’s writings, forming a book club to explore his ideas. Slowly, they won backing from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Sundance Institute.
After a decade of persistence, Walden: A Game emerged—a meditative, immersive experience where players live Thoreau’s experiment, gathering wood, fishing, tending a garden, and navigating inspiration and exhaustion. The game challenges the gaming industry’s norms, proving that video games can be educational, contemplative, and even transformative.
Like Fullerton, you can turn disruption into discovery. When faced with uncertainty, don’t rush to fill the void—pause, get curious, and let your What If? questions light the way.
Your Window of Possibility
Consider your own Tornado Moment. Maybe you’ve already lived through one, or maybe you’re in the thick of it now. Either way, take a moment to reflect—without rushing to make meaning just yet.
Describe the Storm – What was (or is) your Tornado Moment? Was it sudden—an unexpected job shift, a creative failure, a personal upheaval? Or did it creep in slowly, unsettling you over time? If words feel limiting, try a metaphor—was it a free fall? A slow unraveling? A lightning strike?
Bewilderment & Wonder – What was your immediate reaction? Did you feel lost, fearful, or oddly exhilarated? Did the moment spark unexpected questions or open cracks in your old assumptions?
Your “What If?” Moment – As the dust settled (or is still settling), have you had glimpses of possibility? A shift in perspective? A new question worth living into? If not, what small experiment might help you sit with the uncertainty instead of resisting it?
From Story to Strategy – If you’ve gained insight from your Tornado Moment, how might it shape the story you tell about yourself and your work? Could it reframe your approach to your business, leadership, or creative path? If you’re not there yet, what’s one way you can honor this moment without forcing resolution?
Not everyone is ready to shape their upheaval into a narrative just yet—and that’s okay. Some storms need time before they make sense. But if you’re beginning to see the outlines of a new story, what might happen if you leaned into it? What if, instead of retreating, you asked, What now?
Hit Reply and let me know what lands with you here or what you'd add.
Be well, and thanks for running with me,
Jeffrey
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On Jeffrey's and TW's Radar
Here are resources to instigate us to reimagine life & work. Send us a resource to share in a future Wonder Dispatch.
>>> Social doesn't have to be core to your career (Substack talk with Carla Lalli Music on the costs of gamling with YouTube)
>>> Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life(book, Penguin. Shigehiro Oishi, PhD)
>>> How to Lead the Richest Life Possible (Happiness Lab Podcast interview with Oishi)
>>> From "Trauma-Informed" to "Adversity-Resilient" (Scott Barry Kauffman, Psychology Today, the basis of his in-print article in this month's print edition)
>>> Meaning as Mission for Black Entrepreneurs (Fast Co., The Conversation group)
>>> Yearning for Wonder: Science, Mystery, and the limits of Knowledge (Beauty at Work, Substack) - great work funded by the Templeton Foundation
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