Finding the awe in awesome
How I create room for awesomeness in my life
“Let’s do something awesome!”
How many times have you said this? How many times have you heard this? Awesome by definition means:
‘Extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear,’ but I don’t remember using this word in that context ever.
New Year comes around and everyone wants an awesome New Years Eve experience. And, as the clock strikes 12, we wish for an awesome year. And then an awesome valentines day. Awesome anniversary. Awesome vacations. Awesome long weekends. Awesome weekends. Awesome dates. Awesome friends. Awesome food. Awesome everything!
So much awesome that awesome has lost its meaning. The word has even gone on to the level of ‘okay’ and ‘cool’ and is an equivalent one-word response to texts. Someone finalized a plan, awesome. Someone responds positively to email, awesome! All year round, every week, every day, we continue to look for that awesome, in us and around us, and yet the desire seems to stay unmet.
Language transcends and changes with time and maybe that’s what this is — maybe that’s what awesome is today: something cool. And, it may be a totally normal evolution of language making the use of word informal and casual.
But, in that case, I wish to travel back in time to when awesome really was awesome and witness that awesome — one that is extremely impressive or daunting, one that inspires great admiration. While it’s a great idea for daydreaming to think of time travel, sadly we have not achieved that yet. In the meanwhile, I have decided to create some space in my life to witness that awe whenever possible.
Be present
Being mindful of my surroundings and taking in everything with a sense of gratitude has really helped me enjoy the daily things more. Making time to be phone-free has given me opportunity to witness the awe and beauty around — breathtaking sunsets, double rainbows, acts of kindness, cute smiles and more.
Busyness is the way of living for most but try to schedule free time in your day, away from routine and distractions, to witness life around and to allow things to happen.
Choose my tribe
The people that we choose to surround ourselves with makes a big difference in the quality of our life — not only do they influence our way of thinking and our experiences, they also affect our energy.
Stop hanging out with people just for the sake of hanging out with someone — instead be with those who really value you and your time, those who add some value to your life — be it laughter, love or inspiration.
Plan ahead
If I am taking a trip or meeting someone, planning ahead reduces the mental work during that time and I can spend my time being in the moment with the people or with myself. If you love sunsets, plan to witness them without distractions. If you love to travel, plan a loose itinerary for the trip so when you get there you're free to enjoy instead of worrying about the next thing.
How do you create room for awesome moments in your life?
