In a time of collective overwhelm, awe offers us a way back to what matters.

It’s easy to feel like everything’s unraveling.

Politically. Economically. Ecologically.

The constant hum of headlines, outrage, collective grief,and anxiety sit just beneath the surface of our days. Phones pull us into loops of doomscrolling. The latest cultural shit-storm. The next debate. The next thing we’re supposed to care about, cancel, or fix. The chaos feels endless.

But then—something interrupts the static.

A beam of light cuts through the late afternoon trees, and for a breath, we’re somewhere else entirely.

A toddler laughs so deeply at a dog’s sneeze that it echoes in our chest.

We find ourselves standing by water, remembering how to be still.

That’s awe. And it might be the medicine we didn’t know we needed.

Awe isn’t just poetic—it’s physiological. It’s one of the few emotional states that reliably pulls us out of hyper-individual focus and into connection with something greater. Research shows awe helps soften the ego, dissolves self-obsession, and returns us to a felt sense of belonging—to nature, mystery, and each other.

In a 2015 study, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that experiences of awe were associated with lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines—markers linked to stress and depression (Stellar et al., Emotion). Awe, they suggested, has a direct effect on our biological stress responses.

More recently, awe has entered the conversation around addiction recovery. In a 2021 study published in Psychological Science, participants who experienced awe reported less self-focus and a greater sense of connection—both critical for healing from addiction. And neuroscientist Dr. Judson Brewer, known for his work on mindfulness and habit loops, describes how awe can shift brain activity away from craving-based circuits and into states of openness, curiosity, and presence.

It’s a state experience—meaning it doesn’t stick around. But it leaves traces.

It can reset the nervous system. It can loosen thought loops. It can change a day.

The mind can’t loop when the soul bows low, caught in the hush of something holy.

We’ve seen this in recovery circles for decades. Surrendering to a higher power. Bearing witness to the miracle of a life rebuilt. Sitting in the quiet and realizing we are not alone. These are awe experiences—unassuming, quiet, and sacred.

Maybe what we need isn’t more pressure to perform.

Not more outrage. Not more certainty.

Maybe what we need is more reverence.

Lately, awe has shown up in the cracks of ordinary life:

A stranger’s kindness. The first snowfall. A cello played so tenderly it breaks something open in us.

Awe doesn’t erase the danger. But it reminds us there’s still beauty worth staying present for. There’s still something sacred moving—right here, in the middle of it all.

We don’t need to be fixed.

We need to be reminded.

Let awe do that.

Let it break us open.

Let it give us back to what matters.

~

Sources Cited:

• Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A. M., Piff, P. K., Cordaro, D., Anderson, C. L., Bai, Y., … & Keltner, D. (2015). Awe and the small self: Awe leads to self-diminishment, reduced entitlement, and increased prosocial behavior. Emotion.
• Piff, P. K., Dietze, P., Feinberg, M., Stancato, D. M., & Keltner, D. (2015). Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Judson Brewer, MD, PhD