Moments of ‘Awe’
Lofting into the depth of the sky, there it was. A shooting star. My soul lit up and I made a wish as quickly as I could, trying to seize this moment with nature. Wow. I thought. How lucky am I to see a shooting star.
That’s what I would call a moment of ‘awe’. The sight of something so incredible to where you can feel its magnitude in your soul. It’s larger than anything you could ever create and there are no words to describe how it came to be.
Standing on the edge of a mountain, level with the troughs and peaks of the range beyond, breathing through the crisp windy air, and feeling the warmth of the sun reflected on my face – that is another moment of ‘awe’ I have experienced.
To define what creates a moment of ‘awe’ we can look at the similarities between different experiences. A shooting star and a mountain range are both products of nature. Nature has a way of expanding our imagination as it is not manmade. We often try to replicate nature through biomimicry. For instance, the hummingbird inspired our design of an airplane. The bur seed inspired the invention of Velcro. We take inspiration from nature and morph it to create efficiencies in our society. While Velcro is useful, it’s not like it inspires a moment of ‘awe’ every time I use it.
As humans, we are drawn to things that we can’t explain. Things that exist in society without a need to be purposeful within our daily lives. It’s that je ne sais quoi that’s so compelling.
Like nature, experiences of humanity also invoke ‘awe’. Birth is such an incredible phenomenon. It’s the question of what came first, the chicken or the egg? While sad, death is also such a beautiful display of humanity. The fact that we have limited time on earth with the people we love makes us so much more grateful for the moments we do share. The unfiltered and raw displays of humanity are those that we appreciate the most. When you can feel 100% authentic and expose the vulnerabilities that we fear to project in society. It’s human nature as we call it. The moments that we cannot control since we are only human.
The common thread between these moments of ‘awe’ seems to be things and experiences that exist just because. They are products of the natural and uncontrollable. As humans, we are all products of the natural, however, we impose the unnatural upon ourselves. We adopt identities, pursue expectations, and play the roles that society asks of us. While these things help us navigate the world, they can distance us from our most authentic selves.
That is why it is so important that we don’t give up on finding those moments of ‘awe’ in our daily lives. Get out in nature and experience the beauty of a landscape. Share a raw and unfiltered moment with a friend or partner. Our ability to find ‘awe’ amongst the conformity of society is what will keep us inspired and optimistic about what we are all individually capable of. It will keep authenticity bright in a world that encourages sameness.
Let me know: what’s a moment of ‘awe’ that you have recently experienced?
