 |
| An awe inspiring view of |
Remember the innocence of childhood when anything and
everything was a mysterious wonder? A simple thing like a box of colourful
crayons brought so much joy and wonderment and also so many possibilities of
the things you could do with it. A plane passing overhead, a bunch of balloons
twisted into animal shapes, a rainbow bursting out after the rain or your first
ice cream cone – you viewed everything with a sense of wonder and awe.
Sadly, life happens, and the magic disappears. You've been there,
done that, you've seen it all and you become jaded. Sure, there is more for us
to see and know than we can ever take in, but the experience of happy surprise
comes less and less. And even when we come across something new or wonderful,
we’re often cynical and wary that we rarely feel that overwhelming sense of joy
that had touched us when we were young. We sadly lose all the wonderment of
life as we grow away from that age of innocence.
I remember a report that appeared a while ago about a study
that claimed that regular awe-inspiring experiences may improve our mental
health and make us nicer people. Studies on groups of volunteers reportedly showed
that experiencing awe made people feel they had more time to spare. This in
turn led them to be more patient, less materialistic, and more willing to give
up time to help others.
Awe therapy? I think that’s a perfectly good idea. It will
cost nothing, but give much…..
And we needn't go looking far and wide for man-made wonders.
Our wonderful world has much to offer – beautiful sunrises, nostalgic sunsets,
majestic mountains and trees, amazing animals and people and much, much more.
There’s magical awe-inspiring wonder all around us if we only care to look with
our soul’s eyes.
Perhaps this is one of the missing links that will make us
all nicer people thereby creating a nicer world. Something to think about,
right?
He who can no longer pause to
wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed - Albert Einstein