the awe that feels good
found in moments of wonder
and humility
Awe, Dr. Keltner explained, is that complex emotion we experience when encountering something so vast that our sense of self recedes.
It can be positive or negative (like the feelings that come from witnessing violence or death), but the awe that feels good is the type found in moments of wonder and humility.
From This Kind of Walk Is Much More Than a Workout by By Jancee Dunn.
Ms. Dunn writes:
This week, we’re exploring “awe walks,” outdoor rambles designed to cultivate a sense of amazement.
Jancee Dunn is the columnist for Well’s subscriber-only newsletter at The New York Times. She writes longer features as well, and spearheads special projects for the desk. Her work has appeared in many sections across The Times.
The idea for a walk with awe or a walk in awe brought to mind a Mary Oliver poem that my sister Lisa sent to me.
Gethsemane by Mary Oliver
The grass never sleeps.
Or the roses.
Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.
Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.
The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,
and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,
and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.
Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did, maybe the wind wound itself
into a silver tree, and didn’t move, maybe
the lake far away, where once he walked as on a
blue pavement,
lay still and waited, wild awake.
Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not
keep that vigil, how they must have wept,
so utterly human, knowing this too
must be a part of the story.
I have quoted this line before, but I like it so much.
As Alice Walker writes in her book The Color Purple,
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.”
No Haiku For You 