Raindrops & Awe

In the first blog I wrote a lot about the “messy middle” and the work of the journey one can undertake in life – the journey to authenticity, true awareness, deep insight, and so much more.  In this, and future blogs, I will share some of the things that have helped me along the way and are still key practices to ensure I can sustain.

My thoughts today are around wonder and awe.  When we entered this world as infants, we were unbiased, wide-eyed and full of unfiltered emotions (more on that one later).  And we were AMAZED at everything!  A very young child experiences each new object and color, sound, taste, smell, and skin sensation without preconceived notions of good or bad.  They just “are”.  If you have ever watched a child experience something new you may notice that sometimes they will look to their parent or an adult to gauge how to react before they do react! As a child grows up they start to look to their peer group for those reaction gauges and this continues as an adult in many situations and for many people.  And somewhere along the way we lose a great deal of our curiosity and our recognition of just how amazing many things are that we can or do experience each day.

Nature is my place for true wonder and awe usually.  As I am typing this blog, I am sitting on my back patio.  As I look around me slowly, I try to notice as many details as possible.  The many color shades in our hayfield.  So many variations of green, the occasional white of the Queen Anne’s Lace, the burgundy seed tips of the tallest grasses.  My eyes scan more and fall upon the bright fuchsia of the Crepe Myrtle.  Oh, what is that????  Very large rain drops on the patio roof and stones!!! I listen intently for the cadence – will this be a brief shower or will it turn into a steady rainfall?  And I keep listening – the crickets and grasshoppers do not seem to be deterred in their song by the rain. And I keep scanning – there are some patches of blue in the sky so maybe just a brief rain.  The cadence of drops is picking up now and the color of the stone is darkening.  And I wonder just how much rain will does it take before the insects cease their song?   And now I see one of the hummingbirds at the feeder – seemingly oblivious to the rain.  It is that time of year that they are storing up on their fuel to start the migration to Mexico & Central America.  Ahhh…. the rain has stopped again.

In those few minutes of paying attention to just two senses – sight and sound – I experienced so many things that are amazing. I now allow myself to think about them. When I start with the hayfield my mind quickly goes to the wondrous ecosystem that a hayfield is part of – the field mice that have such tiny trails through there to the Cooper’s and Red-shouldered hawks that hunt them. Then I start to ponder the amazing process of what goes on below ground and above ground that allows so many life forms to exist! And the rain – what about the rain? Have you ever wondered about or been amazed by the laws of nature that govern the weather? From cloud patterns to the size of a raindrop to the flow of the water through the soil and bedrock and into the underground lakes and rivers that move the water below the surface? Don’t forget those hummingbirds too! A tiny bird that weighs 0.11 ounces, flies at night from summer breeding grounds for over 1,200 miles to their winter home and part of that trip is a 500-mile non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico. HOW??? And I get tired working out for an hour!

Our short experiencing session just allowed us to be reminded of so many super-amazing and awesome parts of nature, natural laws and curiosity.  And it did some pretty incredible things for our minds and bodies too!  When experiencing awe what are we not thinking about?  Ourselves first and foremost.  And all the stress, to-do’s, etc. that weight us down every day.  The parts of your brain that are focused on planning and doing relaxed while the parts of the brain around creativity and curiosity were stimulated.  Your blood pressure most likely dropped, and your breathing deepened.  And muscles softened. 

When we practice wonder and awe, we realize we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves.  We are all part of the one natural world around us.  We are not alone, and we are also not the only thing in the universe that matters.  We start to develop perspective about many different things and our sense of self-importance gets recalibrated – opening the door for many new ways of thinking.

You can find sources of awe and wonder all around you.  Outdoors is a great way to start but you can study a single leaf or branch on a houseplant, the pattern of the woodgrain in a table, the sound of the ceiling fan, the smile and curiosity of a baby playing, the excitement of a dog or cat when their owner comes home, the lines and wrinkles of the skin on a wise elders hands – you get the point I believe.  Awe and wonder can be found all around us.

Hmmm…. the raindrops are starting again.  A blue jay is calling.  A wasp is buzzing nearby.  I shall watch and listen some more before starting dinner.

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The Messy Middle