Stop Along the Way: 2023

On the Midwestern, treelined, urban street of 1264 Hope Avenue, Columbus, Ohio, there was a walk-in closet with worn wooden floors and a closet door that didn’t quite latch. A young teenage girl sat inside the closet and read non-fiction books she brought home from the library. She read inside the closet because it was a place, she could find quiet and solace. She chose non-fiction because she was a seeker…always looking for answers to life’s questions. Sometimes she found them, sometimes she didn’t. The girl was me. I still read non-fiction. I am still a seeker of life’s questions. I will probably never stop being that type of person. Life continues to add more questions and at times I feel as if it has more questions than answers. Not only do I still read non-fiction (in an attempt to answer the questions), but I have added non-fiction podcasts. You might be thinking: See a therapist! Don't worry, I do. 😉 My favorite podcasts are in the realm of psychology and neuroscience. The Science of Happiness is a fantastic podcast. It is hosted by Dacher Keltner. Keltner is a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkley and founder and director of the Greater Good Science Center. The podcast’s aim is to offer research-based strategies rooted in science to lead a happier, more meaningful life. Who doesn’t want that? In addition to the podcast, Keltner recently authored a fantastic book called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.

Perhaps that title doesn’t excite you. I am not sure it would have excited me either, but over the course of weeks, I listened to Keltner interview many guests on the podcast. Each person spoke in detail about how awe affected them on a personal level. Keltner in turn spoke about the science behind awe; how it affects our brains and physiology. This science fascinated me. After all, he states up until 15-20 years ago, awe wasn’t being studied as a science. In his studies, he states he has learned a bit of daily awe can even improve physical health! How can an emotion have such a profound effect on people? And what the heck is awe anyway?

Awe, as defined by Keltner, is “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.” Some people may describe this emotion as mysterious. It could be described as “that goosebump feeling.” Or maybe it is that feeling when we see something that literally makes us say, “Oooooh, awe.” Perhaps it is double rainbow-type stuff. One thing was for sure, as I listened to one particular podcast episode about nature, it hit me. My Gram. She knew all about awe. She inherently looked for and found awe in practically everything she did everywhere she went every single day of her 99 years on Earth. She saw awe in babies, wildflowers, friends, strangers, family members, hymns, tight hugs, books, coffee, dairy cows, Ohio farmland, and on, and on, and on. I knew I needed to not only read Keltner’s book, but I needed to learn more about awe.

There are, as Keltner tells us, 8 Wonders of Life (or categories of awe, if you will).

1. Moral Beauty

2. Collective Effervescence

3. Nature

4. Music

5. Visual Design

6. Spiritual & Religious

7. Life & Death

8. Epiphanies

No need to define each of them…I am not writing this as a book review. I can say this: Encounters with moral beauty, the first category, have been shown in studies to lead people to feel more inspired and optimistic. “[A person’s] faith and hope in other humans rises. They may hear a call to become a better person by imitating other acts of courage or kindness.” (Keltner, 81). Anyone who met or spent time with my Gram can attest to this. Corene Ann Spaulding Robinson made you want to be a better person. She left you feeling awe-inspired. You wanted to imitate her kindness. She was certainly my example of moral beauty.

As a veracious reader herself, we used to trade books. I would send her books I read that I thought she would enjoy. We would write each other notes or chat on the phone about what we learned from them. This book, Awe, is the first book I have read since her death that I cannot share with her. I found myself turning the pages with tears running down my cheeks knowing that she would love this book. I can almost hear her recount to me with ease the awe she felt when she saw a deer during her daily walk in the woods. It makes my heart ache. I miss her. This newly studied science would not have surprised her. I think what would have surprised her is that it took so long for someone to realize that something so simple can have such a profound effect on our happiness.

My Gram loved this blog. For her 90^th birthday, I had all the entries, up to that point, printed into a hardback book. She read it over and over. She lent it to friends. I stopped writing on the blog more than a few years ago. She kept encouraging me to go back to it. I kept resisting. Since reading Awe, I have felt this tug, er, push, to write again. Maybe it’s Gram. She was sort of pushy like that (ha-ha). Unbeknownst to her, my Gram had a leg up on this science and for that, I am truly grateful. How fortunate am I to have been taught the importance of awe without even knowing it?

My Gram had this facial expression that we used to call the “Gram Face.” We all used to imitate it. It was this expression of surprise with wide eyes and her mouth would make this tiny, taught “O.” Funny…now I think I will call it the “Awe Face.”

I find awe in nature: sunsets and sunrises, frost on clover, snowflakes, puffy clouds, forest trails, crackling fires, starry skies, purple lightning that streaks across a black sky during a thunderstorm, the dark, and the crumbly shale shoreline of Lake Cumberland littered with white bone-like pieces of driftwood. I could go on and on. I also find awe in music. The first concert John and I attended post-Covid made me feel alive all over again. The collective effervescence among the crowd made us feel bonded together with complete strangers. I could feel that music in my bones bringing me back to life, pulsing through my veins, to a time that felt like life prior to March 2020. Awe gives me goosebumps when my almost grown dips laugh together. Seeing them so grown up and enjoying each other's company. Talk about being in the presence of something vast. My mom-heart could not be more full or happy. ALL THE AWE!

Please go find awe, whatever that may mean to you. It is there. It is all around us.

Thank you for reading (I know my Gram would thank you too). xo