Awestruck

Could this be what we're seeking?

These past several years, a few emotions seemed to be in short supply; most of them have to do with open-hearted positivity. Hopefulness. Happiness. Awe. Wonder. We’ve been so anxious for so long now that, for many, it’s become our default feeling. We’re afraid to wish for better times; we’ve become inured to the opened Pandora’s Box of hatred, bitterness, bigotry, selfishness. We give a collective shrug, say, “I guess that’s just the way the world is now,” and hunker down to await the next bit of bad news.

But not only do feelings like awe and joy matter—they may well be the key to turning things around. Mankind was wired for wonder, and hope, and community. That’s why we’ve been feeling so off, so uncomfortable. We know this is not how it’s supposed to be. Please take a few minutes to watch this brief, lovely TED talk with neuroscientist Dr. Beau Lotto and the incomparable Cirque de Soleil. Turns out, cultivating awe is CRITICAL, and can literally re-wire our brains for more creativity, empathy and connection.

VIDEO: EXPERIENCING AWE

GALLERY: FROM MY “AWESOME” COLLECTION

I have been awed by many people and places in my lifetime, from listening to a virutoso performance of Samuel Barber by brilliant musician Hilary Hahn, to gazing at the majestic Olympic Mountains in Washington State. I was awed by Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna and Saint Chapelle in Paris and the view out my train window of the North Sea en route from London to Edinburgh. I’ve been lucky enough to see a gloriously colorful bush in Costa Rica suddenly come alive with a hundred hummingbirds, and even to hear the blaring taxi horns and the buzz of human voices far below a New York apartment window. deep into in the night, comforting signs that this beloved city never sleeps.

But, truly, awe does not depend on the grand sight, sound or gesture. I believe we can train ourselves to be awestruck by the tiny things as well…like these!

VIDEO: PHOTOGRAPHER ANNE GEDDES’ BABIES ( say no more, right?)

BOOK: AWE

I haven’t finished this book yet but am loving it so far! A scientific breakdown of human emotions, including a groundbreaking examination of “awe.” I love the author’s definition: “the emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that we don’t understand.” And there’s so much in this life we DON’T understand…so let’s celebrate the mystery!

POEM: BREAKAGE BY MARY OLIVER

Nothing inspires more awe, for me, than an early morning walk by the ocean. For the longest time, I rejected broken shells in favor of collecting only perfect specimens. Now, I begin to “read” the stories of these weathered survivors…

I go down to the edge of the sea. 
How everything shines in the morning light! 
The cusp of the whelk, 
the broken cupboard of the clam, 
the opened, blue mussels, 
moon snails, pale pink and barnacle scarred— 
and nothing at all whole or shut, but tattered, split, 
dropped by the gulls onto the gray rocks and all the moisture gone. 
It's like a schoolhouse 
of little words, 
thousands of words. 
First you figure out what each one means by itself, 
the jingle, the periwinkle, the scallop 
       full of moonlight. 

Then you begin, slowly, to read the whole story.

+ Mary Oliver

SONG: BEAUTIFUL THINGS

My favorite in the Contemporary Christian music catalogue—and the Gungors don’t even identify as traditional Christians anymore (which is fine!) This song moves me deeply, every single time (even when I led 60 young kids in singing it at Vacation Bible School.)

It is a great comfort to know that I was made beautiful, out of the dust. And so were you.

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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”

― Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Of the multitude of gifts my kids and grandkids have given me, this has been one of the greatest—with them, I reconnect with the awe and wonder that are the best parts of being little myself. This week, take the time to check in with that inner child of YOURS, my friends (he or she has been waiting patiently for you)!