....open to awe

Yogis,
I’m at the beach this weekend and set the alarm early to get down to the ocean before sunrise. Our house is STILL filled with the saws and sawdust of construction (that’s another whole story) so we can’t stay there. My routine is to drive into town and park in front of our house so I can take my usual run.

I head through quiet streets and as I start down the sandy path that leads to the beach I see it. The ocean in the distance topped by puffy pink tinged clouds. The emerging light of dawn coloring even the air. My breath catches for a moment. The feeling of awe floods my body. It happens every single time.

What is the definition of awe? According to Oxford it is ‘the feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.’ Other definitions add in terms such as ‘produced by that which is grand, sublime or extremely powerful.’

According to studies, the average person experiences awe 2 to 3 times per week. When was the last time you felt awe?

Although a fleeting sensation, for me it is a whole body high. Thoughts quiet, my body tingles and the chest expands. For that moment, nothing exists except me and the observed.

It happened the other cold clear morning as I stepped out to walk Phoebe and looked up. Stars illuminated the sky with a perfect crescent moon hanging on the western horizon. It happened when I walked into my bathroom in late afternoon to the sight of my suddenly gold colored oak tree framed by the window. And again while cooking dinner when I took my first taste.

A crescendo in classical music. Artwork. The smell of a rose.

I have been thinking about awe. I’m realizing it isn’t something you can go look for. Instead, the more present you are the more often it finds you. It’s as if by moving through life more slowly and being open to awe, she rolls to your feet.

The world we live in is filled with awe. No, I would go a step further. The world we live in is awe. All we have to do is open to let it in.

Feeling tingly,
SARAH