Shared Awe at the Total Eclipse

Jonathan Kolber
Aug 23, 2017 · 2 min read

3 1/2 hours driving there; 11 hours driving back. And well worth it.

A total solar eclipse is unlike a partial eclipse, or even a lunar total eclipse. It is something special.

I used to wonder why so many ancient peoples worshiped the Sun. Sure, it gives light, and life. But it seemed that there had to be something more. Then, after watching the total eclipse with my own naked eyes (only during the Totality!), I understood.

Awe has been found to be the one experience that can shatter rigid belief structures that no longer serve. Shared awe, then, would be the opportunity to effect such change on a group basis.

Many compare this to a religious experience, but it transcends religions. It’s not about A belief system; it’s an EXPERIENCE that cannot be easily described.

Afterwards, 6 of us in our local group compared experiences, all agreeing that something special had happened. We had all experienced Awe on a primal level. And three of us felt something more.

I knew as soon as I’d watched the Sun do its dance with the Moon that I had changed somehow; ineffably. It’s frustrating as a writer to have that experience of ineffability, yet there it was. However, my wife, a professional storyteller, came to the rescue. “I’m completely content with myself”, she said. I realized that I, too, was experiencing this. Another in our group enthusiastically nodded.

Will this endure? Who knows…it’s been only two days. Still, I’m reminded of those from previous generations who have experienced this same event and declared afterwards that they marked their lives as “before the Eclipse”, and then “afterwards”.

So, I’m cautiously hopeful that I’ve left self-abnegation behind. Time will tell. That would be quite a blessing from the Sun.

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Written by

I think about how to create societies of sustainable, technological abundance. My book, A Celebration Society, offers one solution. It has been well received.

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