Remembering What Really Matters Strengthens Our Resilience
As we learned in this interview with Jonah Paquette, moments of awe can act as a muse to our resilience. Here’s a practice for cultivating awe from the book Resilience.
Awe is the larger-than-life feeling we experience in the presence of something vast and extraordinary — the glory of a panoramic sunset, a star-studded night sky, a total solar eclipse, or the aurora borealis. It can also be inspired by the novelty, complexity, and harmony of a great creative work, such as the magnificence of the Taj Mahal, and by small things, such as the miraculous blooming of a flower.
Awe is not a luxury. Experiencing awe promotes resilience by challenging our usual ways of seeing the world and our place in it. Awe promotes curiosity and exploration while simultaneously soothing the nervous system. It puts our day-to-day concerns into perspective and broadens our horizons; we feel more interconnected with others.
1. Immerse yourself in nature — a park, a garden, a forest — and notice everything as if seeing it for the first time. Bring a wide-eyed curiosity to every tree and blade of grass, every bend in the road, every cloud in the sky.
2. Visit a good museum or art gallery, or attend a top-notch concert or play. Let the expressions of others who have experienced awe transmit that experience to you. Notice shifts in your own perspective and sense of possibilities.
3. Review your own past experiences of awe: photographs from hiking in a national park or touring one of the great cities of the world, or the birth of your first child. This review can be especially helpful when the daily grind is getting you down: it reminds you that the world is still a magical place, full of mystery and potential.
4. Find an online video of an inspiring speech or performance, or describing a scientific discovery. Watch it with an attitude of openness and readiness to be inspired and uplifted, and to notice and savor the moments of awe when they happen.
Opportunities to experience awe are practically infinite. Experiencing awe creates a new habit to pay attention, shift the functioning of your brain, and nourish your spirit. We remember what really matters.
Find the complete Conversations on Practices for Recovering Resilience Series here.