A Smile, a Tear, or Mountains and Oceans

August: On Wonder and AweAugust 1July, the month of On Family is over at the Everyday Human. Family—what a beautiful and complicated thing it can be.  This month, the month of August (my wife’s birthday month and mine!) will have us exploring one of my favorite topics—On Wonder and Awe. A key component of what makes being human worthwhile, interesting, and sets us apart from so many other creatures. This month, we’ll have reflections on wonder, awe, pleasure, laughter, and everything that makes life delightful and just a little bit mysterious.We’ll explore imagination, finding inspiration in the seasonal transitions, the strange sensation of being raised up by some awe-inspiring event in your life one moment and then having it cut you down and humble you in the next, the idea of a natural order of things vs chaos (or are they the same?)—and so much more.--Moments of awe do not require planning or some grand elaborate ceremony—it’s usually quite the opposite. You can find them every day in your partner or child’s smile; in a quiet moment when all is still and you can hear your own breath and heartbeat; in the rising and setting sun; in the wind moving through the leaves of the trees; or the mountains cutting across the sky in the distance—the eternal blue sky above your head. The moments are everywhere, happening all around you, probably even right now. But the thing is, you need to be aware of them. You need to recognize them. Once you do, stop and be with them for a moment, a minute—as long as you can.There is a perspective shift that comes with awe. It is a way to open your vision to see the bigger picture and to see the world beyond your immediate problems. It is a rope to pull you from your pit, and a bowl of clean water to wash off the mud of the life below.Reflection title: A Smile, a Tear, or Mountains and OceansCreative inspiration:  Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsReflection question: When did I last experience awe? How can I implement at least one moment of awe into my days moving forward?