This weekend was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. We are now in the 10 ‘Days of Awe’ before Yom Kippur. A time for self-reflection and healing of relationships.
If I think of the vastness of the universe, there is always awe.
Today is a very very rainy day so not today lol. I look forward to my upcoming trip to Scotland though at the beginning of October
and hope to experience a lot of awe moments! Even if there are many showers and/or rain while there the beauty of the land will be amazing!
Awe in itself feels as a gift which might appear when opening up to the beauty of life itself in its many expressions. Is it dependent on a condition ? Depending on the condition to be able to just choose it? Or no condition at all? It probably needs the absence of fear. Does it create possibility? The inner position of gratefulness can be chosen, while to me it seems that awe in a way might appear (or not), like mercy, or Love which one can only be open to and give space inside, possibly unfolding as a timeless blessing once it arrives. To me, it belongs to the sacred states which might be fleeting like precious incense tenderly touching me for a moment, and to experience it is Grace. But may be I am only afraid to allow its unfolding, its all-overwhelming Beauty? This could be. In fact, I don´t know.
Dear Ose, I can relate to “I am only afraid to allow its unfolding…”.
Maybe we are on a similar spiritual path.
May you be well, safe and joyous, dear friend.
When I think of awe as an experience I can choose daily I realize I can find more appreciation for the little things admiring everything as a blessing. Today when I was on my lunch break I went to Starbucks and was embarrassed in the drive through as my phone would not pull up my QR code to scan for this meal. By the grace of God the woman at the drive through offered the meal to me for free. I am in awe and grateful of the blessings that can occur in a slight moment of uncomfortability as this one.
For me, awe might be too big a word for
everyday experiences. I do experience awe
and I am in awe (especially of certain
people), but I think of it more as a
state reserved for the bigger/rarer(?)
experiences. I know these are “just”
words, but it’s all we have. I do
experience, and I am open to, other
positive feelings on a daily basis,
such as: delight, joy, amazement,
satisfaction, exuberance, and gratitude.
Choosing to be open to all the
possibilities, is how I am attempting
to live a more balanced life.
When I approach my day choosing awe I find it everywhere. I am surrounded by awe; I just have to be conscious & aware. Be present. It is truly everywhere, even in the simple, the mundane.
My days are more enjoyable when I find the awe. ✨❤️🌻🍂🌸☕️❤️🙏🏻✨
Thanks for the question.
I can bring mindfulness and experience the world as fully as I can in each moment. Real awe may arise, it may not. It isn’t something I can choose or force. I can be open to the possibility of any moment expanding into so much more. I can also appreciate any given moment and not try to make it be more. It is complete and whole as it is.
Some Sunday afternoon, it may be,
you are sitting under your porch roof,
looking down through the trees
to the river, watching the rain. The circles
made by the raindrops’ striking
expand, intersect, dissolve,
and suddenly (for you are getting on
now, and much of your life is memory)
the hands of the dead, who have been here
with you, rest upon you tenderly
as the rain rests shining
upon the leaves. And you think then
(for thought will come) of the strangeness
of the thought of heaven, for now
you have imagined yourself there,
remembering with longing this
happiness, this rain. Sometimes here
we are there, and there is no death.
I’ve often wondered about the relationship between “fear and awe.” The mindset that comes from use of the word “awe” is very different from the mindset that comes from use of the word “fear.” Scripture often admonishes us to “fear the Lord” when it seems to me that it would be better translated to say “trust in the Lord–be in awe.” Life has taught me that fear clings and awe lets go. I leave you with a quote from Thomas Merton: “For the world and time are the dance of the Lord [Life-giver] in emptiness. The silence of the spheres is the music of a wedding feast. The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life, the more we analyze them out into strange finalities and complex purposes of our own, the more we involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity and despair. But it does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things; or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. Indeed, we are in the midst of it, and it is in the midst of us, for it beats in our very blood, whether we want it to or not.” Be in awe of Life and see instead of always seeking.
Experiencing awe is a gift….a God given gift.. I don’t think one has the power to choose an “awe inspiring experience”….Awe just happens. Being here with all of you is a gift every day…and I am always grateful for that. This morning is cloudy and gray- so I don’t think that the sky will be awe inspiring today. Be well my friends!
I don’t think I can name the possibilities ahead of an awe experience. One of the reasons true awe leaves me gobsmacked is that it is not an everyday happening. What does open possibilities — for me, at any rate — is living as fully in the moment as I am able. When standing firmly in the present, possibilities arise naturally.
I am not sure that I can choose awe as a daily experience. I can choose to be grateful for all I have been fortunate enough to experience. With open eyes and heart, I am more able to enjoy the moments of awe that do cross my path. The last event that really grabbed my attention and brought about the awe of our world was happenstance. Right place, right time. A chunk the size of several homes cleaved off from the terminus of a glacier into the turquoise-colored water of Prince William Sound, crashing and splashing down. The wake was immense and after it rocked the boat a second set of waves ensued when the chunk resurfaced on the other side of the boat rolling and flipping until it reached its floating equilibrium. Those images of the awe of our world will be with me for a long time, I hope.
I think I can be open to the possibility of awe showing up, but I am not sure the actual experience is something I can choose to have. Sounds a bit like, “fake it ’til I make it”. Showing up with an openness is perhaps being authentic. I don’t want to sound like a wet blanket (does a wet blanket make a noise?), but I will choose authentic over fake every day of the week.
OMG! Don, that really made me laugh.
I love it when metaphors are
exposed and mixed. I think it’s:
“sounding like a broken record” and
“being a wet blanket”. Both of which
you are not. 😁
Thank you for the laugh🙏
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This weekend was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. We are now in the 10 ‘Days of Awe’ before Yom Kippur. A time for self-reflection and healing of relationships.
If I think of the vastness of the universe, there is always awe.
Today is a very very rainy day so not today lol. I look forward to my upcoming trip to Scotland though at the beginning of October
and hope to experience a lot of awe moments! Even if there are many showers and/or rain while there the beauty of the land will be amazing!
Awe in itself feels as a gift which might appear when opening up to the beauty of life itself in its many expressions. Is it dependent on a condition ? Depending on the condition to be able to just choose it? Or no condition at all? It probably needs the absence of fear. Does it create possibility? The inner position of gratefulness can be chosen, while to me it seems that awe in a way might appear (or not), like mercy, or Love which one can only be open to and give space inside, possibly unfolding as a timeless blessing once it arrives. To me, it belongs to the sacred states which might be fleeting like precious incense tenderly touching me for a moment, and to experience it is Grace. But may be I am only afraid to allow its unfolding, its all-overwhelming Beauty? This could be. In fact, I don´t know.
Dear Ose, I can relate to “I am only afraid to allow its unfolding…”.
Maybe we are on a similar spiritual path.
May you be well, safe and joyous, dear friend.
When I think of awe as an experience I can choose daily I realize I can find more appreciation for the little things admiring everything as a blessing. Today when I was on my lunch break I went to Starbucks and was embarrassed in the drive through as my phone would not pull up my QR code to scan for this meal. By the grace of God the woman at the drive through offered the meal to me for free. I am in awe and grateful of the blessings that can occur in a slight moment of uncomfortability as this one.
Very nice! A gift or pay it forward moment is definitely a nice awe moment.
For me, awe might be too big a word for
everyday experiences. I do experience awe
and I am in awe (especially of certain
people), but I think of it more as a
state reserved for the bigger/rarer(?)
experiences. I know these are “just”
words, but it’s all we have. I do
experience, and I am open to, other
positive feelings on a daily basis,
such as: delight, joy, amazement,
satisfaction, exuberance, and gratitude.
Choosing to be open to all the
possibilities, is how I am attempting
to live a more balanced life.
When I approach my day choosing awe I find it everywhere. I am surrounded by awe; I just have to be conscious & aware. Be present. It is truly everywhere, even in the simple, the mundane.
My days are more enjoyable when I find the awe. ✨❤️🌻🍂🌸☕️❤️🙏🏻✨
Thanks for the question.
The sky’s the limit! It is my human self that limits me.
I can bring mindfulness and experience the world as fully as I can in each moment. Real awe may arise, it may not. It isn’t something I can choose or force. I can be open to the possibility of any moment expanding into so much more. I can also appreciate any given moment and not try to make it be more. It is complete and whole as it is.
This morning I read a poem by Wendell Berry that seems to fit with this question and my response to it. If you go to the site where I read it, you’ll experience a joyful video as well as the words of the poem I’m copying below. https://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2014/09/wendell-berry-1996-v-some-sunday.html
“1996, V” [“Some Sunday afternoon, it may be”]
Some Sunday afternoon, it may be,
you are sitting under your porch roof,
looking down through the trees
to the river, watching the rain. The circles
made by the raindrops’ striking
expand, intersect, dissolve,
and suddenly (for you are getting on
now, and much of your life is memory)
the hands of the dead, who have been here
with you, rest upon you tenderly
as the rain rests shining
upon the leaves. And you think then
(for thought will come) of the strangeness
of the thought of heaven, for now
you have imagined yourself there,
remembering with longing this
happiness, this rain. Sometimes here
we are there, and there is no death.
I’ve often wondered about the relationship between “fear and awe.” The mindset that comes from use of the word “awe” is very different from the mindset that comes from use of the word “fear.” Scripture often admonishes us to “fear the Lord” when it seems to me that it would be better translated to say “trust in the Lord–be in awe.” Life has taught me that fear clings and awe lets go. I leave you with a quote from Thomas Merton: “For the world and time are the dance of the Lord [Life-giver] in emptiness. The silence of the spheres is the music of a wedding feast. The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life, the more we analyze them out into strange finalities and complex purposes of our own, the more we involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity and despair. But it does not matter much, because no despair of ours can alter the reality of things; or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there. Indeed, we are in the midst of it, and it is in the midst of us, for it beats in our very blood, whether we want it to or not.” Be in awe of Life and see instead of always seeking.
Thank you, Carol. I enjoyed that quote.
I am not sure what the possibilities will be today. I am willing to be open to each experience.
Experiencing awe is a gift….a God given gift.. I don’t think one has the power to choose an “awe inspiring experience”….Awe just happens. Being here with all of you is a gift every day…and I am always grateful for that. This morning is cloudy and gray- so I don’t think that the sky will be awe inspiring today. Be well my friends!
I don’t think I can name the possibilities ahead of an awe experience. One of the reasons true awe leaves me gobsmacked is that it is not an everyday happening. What does open possibilities — for me, at any rate — is living as fully in the moment as I am able. When standing firmly in the present, possibilities arise naturally.
This. I can bring mindfulness and experience the world as fully as I can in each moment. Awe can’t be forced.
I am not sure that I can choose awe as a daily experience. I can choose to be grateful for all I have been fortunate enough to experience. With open eyes and heart, I am more able to enjoy the moments of awe that do cross my path. The last event that really grabbed my attention and brought about the awe of our world was happenstance. Right place, right time. A chunk the size of several homes cleaved off from the terminus of a glacier into the turquoise-colored water of Prince William Sound, crashing and splashing down. The wake was immense and after it rocked the boat a second set of waves ensued when the chunk resurfaced on the other side of the boat rolling and flipping until it reached its floating equilibrium. Those images of the awe of our world will be with me for a long time, I hope.
Were you able to see the Northern Lights on your Alaska trip?
I’m awe that I get to be alive! This is amazing! I’m in a human body and I have the choice of a time time!
I think I can be open to the possibility of awe showing up, but I am not sure the actual experience is something I can choose to have. Sounds a bit like, “fake it ’til I make it”. Showing up with an openness is perhaps being authentic. I don’t want to sound like a wet blanket (does a wet blanket make a noise?), but I will choose authentic over fake every day of the week.
OMG! Don, that really made me laugh.
I love it when metaphors are
exposed and mixed. I think it’s:
“sounding like a broken record” and
“being a wet blanket”. Both of which
you are not. 😁
Thank you for the laugh🙏