Six Ways You Can Experience Awe And Improve Your Life
Paying attention to the emotion of awe can improve your life. Research suggests that awe can make you healthier, more humble, happier, and more connected to a bigger world. Interestingly, when I first began this article on awe and amazement, I discovered one common example in the articles I researched: almost everyone coupled viewing the Grand Canyon with "awe".
This doesn't surprise me, even though the Big G.C. is practically in our backyard and we have been dozens of times. We have stayed on the North Rim and the South, and have hiked Rim-To-Rim. We have lodged in the little cabins on Valentine's Day and bribed our young children (years ago) to take one more step along the trails. We have seen the G.C. at sunset, at sunrise, at 100-degrees, and in the middle of a raging blizzard. I have watched ravens doing acrobatics over the layered colors and surprised lizards sunning themselves under a yucca plant.
I can understand why people choose the Grand Canyon when trying to put words to that overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, and astonishment. Why not choose one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World?
Thankfully, you don't need to reserve your experiences with awe/amazement for a once-in-a-lifetime event like visiting the Grand Canyon. Scientists are finding the importance of experiencing wonder on a more regular basis.
In a recent article for U.S.A. Today, Craig Anderson, a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis who has studied awe in nature, stated, “Big moments that people have in their lives are going to produce awe, but what a lot of recent research is showing is that even those more everyday experiences of awe – just briefly noticing the beauty of nature in our neighborhood or in our backyard – those can have a positive effect on our well-being.”
Awe and amazement are good for us.
With that thought in mind, I asked friends on social media to answer this question: Where do you experience awe and amazement?
Their answers fit into six categories.
1. We Discover Awe in Nature
Whether standing on a cliff looking at Lake Superior, viewing a sunset, walking next to the ocean, or heading to a location surrounded by mountains, my social media circle had lots to say about discovering awe in nature. In fact, they waxed poetically about it, throwing in superlatives and descriptive adjectives that made me think they all aced their English exams in school.
"I love to stand on the edge of the ocean. It is so vast and I feel so small. It puts my problems into perspective just thinking about its size and all the creatures that live within," Julie Green wrote. "The ocean is my favorite place to put life into perspective."
"I find [awe/amazement] happens to me most often when I have set my camera up on my tripod and I am waiting for something to happen," said photographer Rick Furmanek. "That something can be a thunderstorm, a sunset, moving clouds or a clearing sky. It’s in that moment I pause to breathe, visually take it all in and appreciate all I have been given."
Waiting for something to happen. I love that!!
But if waiting for something to happen while fighting off mosquitos or avoiding sunburn isn't your thing, don't worry, there are other places you can discover awe besides in nature.
2. We Discover Awe in the Faces of Children
Children, with their innocence, unconditional love, and exuberance, stir our hearts with amazement. We love viewing life through their eyes as they experience new things.
Children "are naturally curious and interested, with a great imagination and a special ability to see beauty and good all around them,” explains Dr. Brenda Abbey, in the article, How Awe Transforms Us and How to Create More of It For Our Kids. The article encouraged new experiences that stir up questions as one way to keep awe in the younger generation.
Or maybe just get a puppy.
My friend, JoAnn Goodall , finds that nothing swings the amazement-o-meter over the top than watching a child play with a puppy. Labrador, poodle, or cute little mutt, it doesn't matter. Nothing beats watching kids and dogs together for a double win of wonder!
3. We Are Amazed When Humans Excel in Feats of Strength, Fitness, Kindness, Determination or Talent.
I am an Olympics junkie. We signed up for a streaming service ($10 on Peacock or $5 if you don't mind ads) so we can watch ALL the events, whenever we are in the mood, at any time of day or night, when the Olympics begin on July 23rd.
Badminton. Check. Surfing. Check. Kayaking. Check. Gymnastics. Double check.
I love the stories of perseverance, grit, and sacrifice of men and women who push their bodies to do incredible things, whether that is a gymnast performing a double-twisting double backflip off the balance beam or a weight-lifer hoisting a 545-pound barbell over his head like its a baby grand piano.
AMAZING!
But amazement does not need to be limited to speed or strength when we view our fellow humans. We are equally amazed when we see our fellow humans extend kindness, overcome obstacles, or push for a new goal.
Laura Ratulele experiences awe when she witnesses a master creating another piece of their craft. Jeff Zaben finds amazement when he learns something new that has been challenging him in the past. My friend, Laurie Lee, enjoys watching teenage athletes at the local track and that experience inspires her own running goals.
My friends are looking in the right direction. For those who study awe and amazement, they keep coming back to human beings.
Dacher Keltner, a leading researcher into the psychology of awe states, "We find that 50-60 percent of awe experiences are just like you're blown away by other people."
Our fellow humans are awe-inspiring.
4. We Experience Awe At Events That Tie Us To Something Bigger
Sometimes our experiences of awe are larger than the one initial event. It is layered with years of memory, sometimes tying us to past generations or stirring thoughts of our own childhood. The present event cannot be separated from the past.
The singing of the national anthem or the waving of the flag, for example, is tied to 4th of July parades, countless Memorial Day celebrations, and friends and family members who have fought for the freedoms we enjoy.
My friend, Kathy Keresty English, finds herself getting teary-eyed whenever she sees the American Flag waving and what that meant to her husband and veteran, Joe Keresty.
"Whenever we would attend any event where the Star-Spangled Banner was played, Joe would stand at attention," Kathy wrote, "saluting the flag. At the very end when they stopped singing 'home of the braaaaaave,' he would do a perfect snap to and salute the flag. Every time he did that it made me think about what all he went through for our country."
Kathy cannot separate an American flag from the pride Joe had in this country, his experiences in the air force during Vietnam, and her pride in him.
For me, it's a children's production. Every time. Especially if it takes place over Christmas.
While the lingering notes of Silent Night waver over the audience, I remember my mom telling me of a candle-covered tree in a lantern-lit church, with a bucket of water nearby, just in case. Four generations of goosebumps roll up and down my arms.
"While awe makes us less focused on ourselves, evidence suggests it also makes us feel more connected to other people, more a part of a greater whole and something larger than ourselves," writes Summer Allen, a freelance science writer and former neuroscientist, in an article for Psyche.
Awe takes us outside ourselves and connects us to a bigger world.
5. We Experience Awe When Seeing New Things or Old Things in a New Way
After eighteen months of living at home, many people are hitting the roads, eager for a change of scenery. National Parks are experiencing record crowds and camping has made a comeback. 94.5 million households went camping last year, as one of the few safe options available for vacations. 20% of those families went camping for the first time. Travel is one way we are chasing awe as we pull over to experience more than a different view at a scenic overlook.
Cheryl Laflen finds wonder in viewing ancient places. Linda L. Kruschke discovers it while snorkeling as she views the beauty of the creatures below the waves. Pete Stephens heads to a desert canyon or a snow-covered peak. David Mammen finds amazement on a desert drive from Phoenix to Payson.
So pack up your suitcase, buy that plane ticket and make that reservation.
Or not.
Sometimes we can discover amazement by looking at something familiar in a new way.
As a desert photographer, Veronika Countryman, loves to look at something common with a new perspective. She bends down low to view a plant from the underside, or with light shining through, or inside out or through a macro lens. She has even taken samples to view under a microscope.
She lives out this definition of wonder by John Muir Laws:
Wonder is found on the other side of where you usually stop and pay attention.
6. We Experience Awe in Church or While Worshipping God
For the most part, we are past the days when huge cathedrals are built as a testimony to the glory of God. At one time the grandiose edifices were the most beautiful and expensive building in the city, sitting in the middle of the square, stirring the hearts of attenders to awe and majesty of the God they worshiped.
Churches are simpler today. We don't expect to see Michelangelo's masterpieces adorn the ceiling or gargoyles on the parapets, but the awe and inspiration we derive in God's house remains, drawing us into His presence as we worship Him. Sometimes that worship is as simple as opening a Bible or saying a private prayer at home or while out in God's creation.
Awe is an appropriate emotion when encountering the Creator of All Things.
Wherever you discover awe and amazement, it is worth pursuing.
Awe is an important emotion in our relating to the world around us and inside us. The experience takes us beyond ourselves and connects us to others, to creation, and to God.
"It doesn't matter what pathway it takes, or what your belief system is, or what the story is," says award-winning cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg who created the Gratitude Revealed film series. "We just want to feel it. What is important is...to be moved."
I hope you take a moment to discover wonder on the other side of where you usually stop and pay attention today.
I pray you are awestruck.
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Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we continue to look at awe, wonder, and amazement. My curious brain has a few more pathways to investigate and pursue. See you on Facebook, Instagram or back here on the blog.