The Power of Awe - Renewal

When was the last time you experienced an overwhelming sense of awe? How did it transcend your understanding of the world?

Even if you can’t answer these questions, chances are the experience lifted your spirits and increased your joy. As I wrote in a previous blog, "joy" is associated with some very powerful synonyms: bliss, elation, cheer, ecstasy, rapturous. Read more about my adapted view on the expectations of joy in transcending and understanding my world during this time - “Must Joy Be Jubilant?”.

When I think of “awe”, my emotions range from a sigh of awe (isn’t that cute) to an exclamation of AWE! (that was amazing!). Both can be overwhelming with tears from reverence to excitement.

Awe: A feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.

The Power of Awe for Renewal

This wide range of emotions and intensity is perhaps why certain traditions and celebrations begin and continue over centuries. Awe-inspiring traditions and celebrations offer the opportunity for renewal: birthdays (especially the milestones), religious and spiritual observances, anniversaries, the New Year to name a few. Think of a tradition marked by a celebration that gave you a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder. I’m going to leave that with you to reflect for yourself and give you a bit of a nudge:

• Consider the first time you recall seeing the lighting of a Christmas tree. Were you warm, or cold? Was it daytime, or nighttime? Who was there? Chances are your caregivers were focused on your reaction and able to view the spectacle through your eyes, turning a task into something extraordinarily awesome.

The Awe of Being an Adult

Responsibility and daily pressures can rob us of awesome experiences as we focus more and more on organized, goal-directed, and competitive activities. (Yes, tree-trimming has become a competitive sport for some people.) Add the strain of uncertainty and ongoing changes that we are experiencing during the pandemic, and our worlds seem to shrink and shrivel. We lose our ability to experience awe. Nevertheless, I still sigh “awe” when I see a baby. My awe in this experience is inspired by the poignant quote “Every child begins the world again” ~ Henry David Thoreau. From the first chapter of Walden, this quote expresses the wonder, hopefulness, and new possibilities inherent in every single child. Fortunately, we can cultivate awe.

The Benefits of Awe

To be sure, stress can be tiring. Even traditional celebrations can leave us feeling a bit frazzled and worn down. But before you dismiss awe (like we dismiss joy) as something you have to seek or as another task for your to-do list, consider the benefits of awe.

Experiencing awe allows us to:

• Enhance our connection to others and with others. We become more aware of how we are connected through family, friends, work, and through local to worldwide communities.
• Be more comfortable with uncertainty. Awe lessens our need or desire for cognitive control and allows us to be present and focus on what is most important in the moment. Consciously observing our controlling nature might help us to let go a bit and recognize awe. A tricky behavioural transition at the moment.
• Embrace risk. As we embrace and increase risk, our sense of awe intensifies. Think of a time you took a risk and you were in total awe of how well it went. Reflect and embrace that feeling again.
• Gain greater understanding of our sense of self, our history, and our place in the world. I am an avid fan of biographies, historical fiction, and exploring my family ancestry. I am regularly awe-struck by the sense of my place in this time and in this world.
• Reduce inflammation. Experiencing awe improves our physical health as it has a positive impact on our cytokine response. A deficiency of cytokine receptors has been directly linked to certain debilitating immunodeficiency states. Hmmm! Makes sense that “awe-inspiring” events can strengthen our immune system – whether we are there physically or virtually.
• Be curious, courageous, and move forward. Back to gaining a greater understanding of self, our history, and our place in the world, awe inspires us to do great things.

What do you think? How do you harness the power of awe?

In this series on the Power of Awe, I will continue to define awe, explore how awe defines us, uncover some practical ways to cultivate more awe in our lives. 

You can reach me on LinkedIn. Or click to Get in Touch.

• Subscribe to THRIVE content and updates. Receive announcements and new content, worksheets, and tools that we offer to our THRIVE! community.
• Accelerate your emotional well-being and resilience. Start with your 90-day EQ mini plan. Complimentary.
• Up-level your EQ experience. Check out the online mini-course Your Building Blocks to Emotional Well-Being and Resilience.
• Check out the THRIVE in Work and LifeTM programs.
• Feature Video: The Secret to Creating a Sustainable Business Foundation - Best Practices For Female Entrepreneurs