“That’s awesome!” we tend to throw this term around with wild abandon. But have you ever paused to think about what the word “awesome” really means? It means “awe inspiring” or “producing awe.” Awe is not really an emotion we contemplate much. I didn’t until I was listening to an episode of the You Are Not So Smart podcast with guest Dacher Keltner an expert in emotions. Keltner has a new book out about Awe and how it can transform your life.
Meanings change over time
One of the things I learned from the podcast is that the meaning and experience of awe has changed over time. Keltner defines awe as: “Awe is the emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that we don’t understand.” Originally it was associated with fear, but as many physical dangers have been subdued in modern life, awe has taken on a gentler aspect. It is still associated with surprise and tends to last only moments, but can be a guidepost to bringing one into a deeper sense of wonder.
My own moment of awe
One of the questions he asked on the podcast was to think about a time when you had experienced awe. It took me a moment, but a profound experience I had had long ago suddenly reframed itself; I was experiencing awe in that moment. I started my undergrad studies as an art major and part of the requirements was so many class hours of Art History. I took the survey courses and then some higher level specialty courses. I was drawn to ancient art more than modern. So over and over I was exposed to slides of one of the earliest significant Egyptian artifacts: the Pallet of Narmer. It is a triangle shaped carved stone with images of King Narmer and symbolic representations of the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Interesting but not really much to look at compared to the much more colorful tomb paintings. A couple years later I was in an exchange type program called Semester at Sea, we sailed around the world and visited 10 countries. Egypt was one of them. I was wandering around in the ancient history museum in Cairo when I turned the corner and there was a glass case in the middle of the floor. Displayed in the case was a small stone tablet and as I got closer I realized it was the Pallet of Narmer. It was much smaller than I had expected. And as I looked at it and saw the tiny marks from the tools that were used to carve the images, I had this strange feeling come over me. Goosebumps and shivers, I was awestruck. I stood there for several minutes just taking it in. I was seeing real history, right here, right now in this moment. I felt a connection to those hands that had first touched the stone some 5000 years ago. Even now, thirty years later, as I describe this I can still feel a sense of wonder and connection.
Wonder is a personal experience
While I hope my blog post has some meaning for you, I certainly don’t expect it to be an awe inspiring moment for you. The real question is what are those moments for you? Where do you find awe? Maybe take a moment and pause, or just let the question simmer in the back of your head. It took me a little while of pondering to recall that moment with the Pallet of Narmer. But I also have little sparkles of it in my day to day life. I saw some tiny yellow flowers just starting to bloom on a spikey algerita bush just yesterday, and I let myself have a moment of being taken in by them.
The more you look, the more you see.
And that is Keltner’s point. Once we start thinking about awe and looking for it, we notice it more. And when we can allow ourselves to feel it, awe brings us into connection with ourselves and with our communities. It is important to notice these moment too, not just when we feel scared or anxious or depressed, but that we have a whole wide range of emotions. I tell this to my clients and I have written about the range of emotions before. Feeling awe tells us what is important to us, significant to us, what we need to pay more attention to. My experience with the Pallet of Narmer helped me understand that art history isn’t just larger than life images projected on a huge screen in a dark auditorium (after lunch when you feel quite sleepy…) but is a message through time about living life, and honoring those moments of awe.
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