Awestruck

I’m reading a book called “Awestruck” by Dr. Jonah Paquette and the basic idea is that the presence of “awe” in our lives can have positive effects on our daily lives.

Awe? Awe, he says, is a feeling that comes when we’re in the presence of something so vast or profound that it transcends our understanding of the world.

I remember feeling that when I was younger, on family vacations. My mom was a travel agent and so I was fortunate to go on a number of cruises to various tropical islands and I can still remember the feeling inside when I’d see the sparkling blue water, the pink sand on the beaches, the sunrise or sunset at sea, etc.

I also remember that feeling the first time I walked into Yankee Stadium and saw the huge field surrounded by thousands and thousands of seats that were filled to the brim with cheering fans.

The Green Day concert, seeing my favorite band play my favorite songs while rockets went off, streamers fell from the ceiling, confetti was shot into the audience.

When my daughter was born.

When she grabbed my finger for the first time.

When I saw Dana walk down the aisle on our wedding day.

… All of these moments (and many, many more) brought about a feeling inside that transcended my understanding of the world, that made it hard for me to comprehend (in the moment) what was happening.

I’m still making my way through the book, but one of the things Jonah says is that experiences of awe can help us be more GENEROUS and more KIND.

Yes - kindness and generosity follow on the heels of awe.

For instance, an experiment was done where 2 groups of people were placed outside to look at something.

One group stared at something that inspired awe - maybe a sunset? Or a sunrise? Or dolphins leaping from the water? A newborn baby? I’m not sure what it was, but they stared for a while at this awe-inspiring-thing and were asked to focus on it, think about it, meditate on it, etc.

Another group was asked to look at an old building. They were placed outside staring at the wall of an old gray building and were given the same instructions - look at it, focus on it, etc.

THEN.

A person who was an actor was sent to walk by the group and drop a huge box of pens to see which group would be more sympathetic.

Would the group staring at the awe-inspiring thing be more prone to help?

OR.

The group looking at the building?

OR.

Would both groups react the same?

Interestingly, the people in the group that were staring at the awe-inspiring thing were far MORE likely to come to the aid of the guy who dropped the pens and help him pick them up. Not only that, but after further tests was done, it was found that the group staring at the awe-inspiring thing showed a higher degree of ethical-decision-making after exposure to the thing that fanned their feeling of awe into flame. In other words, the feelings of awe helped them be more considerate, caring, kind, generous, etc. towards others.

What are we to make of all of this?

The other day I posted something on Facebook where I was reflecting on the current political landscape of America and I said that “we must do better.” Rather than assume that anyone who votes for _____ is a bad person, perhaps it would be helpful to begin from a place of curiousity and ask the person, “can you help me understand why you support _____ in light of this thing that he/she supports/has done/has said/etc.”

The nation is so divided.

The media does it’s best to “demonize" the other.

Elections are won by creating “fear” of the other.

One side says we need to fear the other side.

The other side says we need to fear the other side.

We make assumptions about people based upon who they vote for.

And we do this every 4 years.

… As a nation, I think, we need to do better.

The post was shared around a bit and got a few people upset as wild assumptions were made about me, my intentions, etc. One person said I should go “duck off” (whatever that means), another that I was “chastizing”, another that I’m just trying to be too nice and don’t want to rock the boat or take a stand, etc.

No one asked me a question.

No one wondered about my thoughts behind the post.

INSTEAD.

Wild assumptions were made, which was (ironically) the point of the post.

Anyways, I got to thinking - perhaps this wildly charged world of politics and political opinions is a place where awe could help us, especially as we make our way into this election season where judgements are made, hate is spewed, arguments are had, and fears abound … a time when we tend to be ANYTHING BUT kind, ANYTHING BUT generous towards one another.

Like …

What if we all worked some awe-inspiring-moments into our days?

What if we held our babies a little longer at night?

What if we took a trip to the local art gallery?

Made time to watch the sun rise in the morning?

Bought the tickets to that concert?

Took a trip to the mountains one weekend in October to look at the leaves changing color?

… Would it help? Would it help make us more generous? More kind? More apt to stop to help the person who drops the box of pens: more apt to be patient with the people who think differently than us, more apt to do less demonizing of those who don’t see things like we do?

I don’t know.

My political opinions aren’t really well received by the Left or the Right these days, to be honest. And I understand that. I’ve even lost some Patreon supporters because of it. My friends on the Right assume I’m a “Leftist” or a “Lib” or “Woke” or whatever and my friends on the Left struggle to understand why I don’t rant and rave against all things (and supporters of) MAGA.

Sigh.

The Right wants you to see the Left as Socialists, the Left wants you to see the Right as Nazis … and both sides want your allegiance, insisting that you can’t be a “good person” or a “good Christian” if you cast your vote for the other side.

(**that’s a gross over-generalization, I realize - there are people on both sides who don’t say such things, but for the point I’m making here … that is the general vibe we get from both sides especially on social media, in the media, etc.)

And hey, I get it - these are wildly charged moments in our Nation’s history and when the new president takes office in January 2025 our future will head in one of 2 very different directions depending on who wins in November.

BUT.

I’m at a place in my life where I’m tired of the fighting, tired of demonizing other people, tired of telling people they are wrong, tired of being told that I’m wrong, tired of the lack of kindness, tired of the lack of respect, tired of the lack of generosity, tired of the gloom and the doom that comes from both sides of the political spectrum.

And, honestly?

I abosrbed and gave off that energy was a Young Far-Right Evangelical and then I absorbed and gave off that same energy as a Fiery Progressive Thinker - it was the same kind of energy that was thrown behind a different candidate, a different set of ethics, and different list of ideals.

Now? I’m just ready for something new, something different. I’m all about discussing our differences, speaking out against injustices, etc; but I’m also trying to be about understanding, respect, unity, and working towards a better tomorrow.

And, I don’t know … but perhaps awe can help us get there.

Peace.

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