The Power of Awe

The Power of Awe

Link to listen to audio: http://tiny.cc/is63101

I visited the National Arboretum with friends yesterday to share the beauty and experience the awe as we walked through the Bonsai gardens. We visited the Japanese, Chinese, and American gardens, chatting with those of all cultures and ages who dedicate time, love, and commitment to create these magnificent living forms. Everyone was so willing to share their knowledge and support. The artistry and beauty of witnessing these magnificent dwarf trees, which mankind sculpted with dedication and love, left me speechless. I paused and noticed internally how this made me feel. The sensations were, and continue to be, empowering me with hope and gratitude to witness these living forms with which we create a symbiotic relationship to heal the world. There were trees created as far back as 1625, nurtured by generations of this family until they were gifted to the Arboretum in peace, centuries later.

I believe that we all need to experience this sensation of awe as it awakens immense pleasure and possibilities. How often do you entertain awakening this sensation? It can also be sensed and felt by visiting museums, reading, and observing fields of flowers or crops that feed us. And for those with children and grands, notice the joy and sense of awe as you witness their learning and growth. Find what speaks to you, as it also enables each of us to recognize that we are not alone and to continue finding the beauty in nature, as well as what mankind is capable of creating for the benefit of all.

“Life is wide, limitless. There is no border, no frontier.” – Bruce Lee

I love the quote above because it suggests vast possibilities for growth, flourishing, learning, and improvement. How many times do you place limits and borders that might reduce what truly is possible? Awaken to all the gifts that surround you, such as hiking in nature, surrounding yourself with artwork, or listening to music. Anything that uplifts and enables you to recognize something outside your known is out there to create more benefit. Just as the trees give us the air we breathe, we give them the carbon dioxide as we exhale. I found myself exhaling with gratitude upon these magnificent trees as they gave me the next breath that enervated me, mind, body, and soul.

Did you realize that even exploring an Awareness Through Movement (ATM)® lesson often delivers a similar sensation of awe? Notice as you compare your personal sensations and feelings from the beginning whole-body scan throughout the lesson, how it changes for the better while doing less and gaining more. That similar sensation of awe is often expressed at the end of a lesson as magical. That’s also the experience of awe, even if you are not able to visit some of the places and experiences where you live, think of all the things you can explore to awaken this sensation.

“The lessons are designed to improve ability, that is, to expand the boundaries of the possible, to turn the impossible into the possible, the difficult into the easy, and the easy into the pleasant. For only those activities that are easy and pleasant will become part of a person’s habitual life and will serve them at all times.” Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais

Bring more of these types of experiences into your life to help balance all that is less than optimal. The choices we make shape our present and future.

I hope I’ve earned the privilege of your time and attention this week, and I wish all the lovely women a Happy Mother’s Day, as women create life with caring and loving support.

Warmest,

Peggi