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The Importance Of Feeling Awe Everyday
How to get high on the present to find social harmony
One of my first childhood travel memories is visiting the Grand Canyon with my entire family — it was as well my very first trip to the United States.
I remember driving endless hours from New Mexico to Arizona with a blue color rented caravan and arriving there by midnight. My uncle is a professional photographer so he forced us to sleep in a parking lot with a panoramic view to witness the sunrise. When I woke up and saw the sun going out from behind the rocks, I experienced the biggest amazement I have ever seen. My mind just got blown away.
I felt so small that I needed to hold my mum’s hand to feel less vulnerable. This is exactly the reaction an awe moment brings you, the reaction to novelty and vastness. That experience made me think about the impact those awe-moments have on us — and on the place we assign ourselves in the world.
The psychology behind awe-moments
Often, it’s this feeling of awe that makes us want to engage with others and feel more connected to them. In other words, feeling small and humbled can make us better people. As authors of a recent study put it, “by diminishing the emphasis on the individual self, awe may encourage people to forego…
