a key effect of awe is that we feel a sense of connection to other people and to something larger than ourselves … awe … diminishes the ego, and links us to the greater forces that surround us in the world and the larger universe*
Jonah Paquette

Much of our life we are trying to connect the dots, to pierce the heart of reality to see what is good true, and beautiful for us. We want something lasting and transcendent.**
Richard Rohr

I said to Christine on our trip around the northwest of Scotland that I simply couldn’t take another beautiful view, another surprise around the next corner.

Nature, stories, ideas, people’s imagination and creativity are all possible sources of wonder.

Not only are we recipients of awe, we are also able to make it happen for each other: awe is an exceptional human gift.

Something magical happens right where we are when we connect our sense to our heart: to see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to smell. We don’t even have to travel great distances and pay out large amounts of money, so it just gets better and better. I’ll leave the final words for Jonah Paquette:

awe spurs us to be kinder and more compassionate. It makes us happier, healthier, and less concerned with materialism. Experiences of awe spark curiosity within us ad help orient us to what matters i our lives. In short, awe changes us in the most incredible ways.

May our new year adventure begin.

*From Jonah Paquette’s Awestruck;
**From Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond.