Awe sucks the wind out of us.

So we are left stunned until we regain our breath with a bit of brightness, and a nodding of our head in agreement, mumbling, “Yep, that was cool.”

Awe is an expression as well as a receiving: an alchemy of connecting ourselves with an other, a place or a moment.

It’s almost a divine respect of connection of something greater than our little selves, so we drop our egos for a little while.

We become engulfed in the moment.

Of course, researchers at UC Berkeley have recently found that experiencing “awe” is good for you, but we already knew that, right?

Especially the artists and writers, we were born to collect moments of awe, and then pour them into a creative piece, so we bring more awe-awareness to those who are afraid to go deeper into those spaces requiring us to let go of all the cultural constructions that become a fortress around our hearts.

And if you have a hard time finding the awe? Well, I’ve got a seven-step process (follow the link in my profile). Just kidding—finding the awe isn’t all that hard.

You’ve got to let it all go.

I’m not saying give away your Luna pants, iPhone, and that 30″ flat screen TV; no, I am saying: let go of all of your predictable days.

Step away from the routines, and slow down enough to see the wonder of the world around you. Take the long way. Listen for what you don’t ever stop to hear.

Look up, and you’ll see a hummingbird perched at the end of a branch whistling with a metallic tune. A little bit of awe is compacted into a bird who can flap its wings 50 times per second, not to mention they can fly backwards, too.

Awe is simple, sometimes.

Awe doesn’t have to be standing at the edge of the Niagara Falls or something extreme like base jumping off a cliff—it is being present in the now.

Let’s stop spending our lives half-awake, staring into the abyss of our phones.

Let’s allow ourselves to be surprised by our world as we’re always trying to get somewhere when that there is already right inside our souls, in our bodies.

 

Author: Jes Wright

Editor: Emily Bartran 

Photo: Pixoto/Climb Globe

 

Facebook is in talks with major corporate media about pulling their content into FB, leaving other sites to wither or pay up if we want to connect with you, our readers. Want to stay connected before the curtain drops? Get our curated, quality newsletters below!