Wondering about Wonder

This week, I watched a really cool documentary about veterans traveling to the Arctic in search of a “cure” for their PTSD from their experiences in combat and war. What was the thing they were after?  

Awe. 

Wonder.

Beauty.

While it didn’t happen immediately upon their arrival, over time, as they took in the majestic, austere beauty around them, they noticed that they started to feel like themselves again and not trapped in the past, re-living their trauma.   Apparently, this experiment that was documented on National Geographic (It’s called Operation Arctic Cure) was initiated by some very interesting research  related to how the presence of awe changes the way we are think by activating other parts of the brain that enable us to move beyond ourselves.  

This documentary and research was brought to my attention as the Director of HNS was meeting with Heather and I about an upcoming community day for our Inspiring Hope Tree.  She relayed that she firmly believes that being able to behold beauty and discover wonder are critical to the healing process of the families and individuals she serves at the Life Center.  It’s something she’s always trusted, but with this additional scientific research, it helped her take steps to act out of that belief and invest in bringing some awe and wonder into the center.  You can read more about her thoughts on inspiration and hope and how it can be brought into a space through visual arts by clicking here.

Ok, so awe and wonder can help those who have been through traumatic experiences like war, abuse, homelessness, etc, but what about the rest of us?  Can it help me with my anxiety? My impulsive anger? My fear?  I wonder….

And where can we find awe and wonder a little closer to home?  The Arctic is awesome, but I’ve got a car pool to do Monday -Friday and dinner to make.   Again, I’m left wondering about wonder. 

Based on my own experience in the last several years, I would say that awe and wonder can play an integral part in helping any person become more whole and moving toward the person they truly want to be.  It’s not the only thing, but it plays a big role.  I also feel confident in saying that awe and wonder could be as close as your front porch, we just have to intentionally look for it. 

Awe and wonder showed up during my June residency in PA and left me a different woman.  Sometimes it was just the wind rustling through the canopy, other times it was a deer surprising me while I painted or the study of the layers of life at my feet and above my head.  Every time I entered the forest, it was awe-inspiring.    I was immersed in a place that was soaked in beauty and unencumbered by expectations and self-doubt. What I experienced in that month-long residency was a softening and awakening of my heart to deep places of pain and brokenness within myself that ached for healing.  An ongoing yearning for approval, an endless well of striving and doing to prove my worth and the niggling sense that I just wasn’t quite enough.  While the forest in all its awe and wonder didn’t fix these things within me, it provided an opening for the God who could. 

The conversations I had with my Father about all these things were brought about because of having my eyes turned toward this beauty that brought Him to my attention in a special way...reassuring me of His goodness and His greatness. I left all sorts of baggage in those woods and I'm forever grateful. 

And here’s the thing…awe and wonder are all around us.  We don’t have to go the Arctic Circle or across the country.  As I’ve been experiencing awe and wonder in my own space here in Colorado, I’ve noticed that it really only requires a couple simple things: time, intention, and curiosity.   Experiencing awe requires time and typically it requires some effort.  Maybe it’s hiking to a break in the tree line to see a beautiful view beneath.  Maybe it’s seeing your child do something you never dreamed possible after years of work, or maybe it’s making a conscious choice to put down the phone, open the door, and pausing to look up and take in the wonder of the morning sky.   If we aren’t making time for awe and wonder, it will allude us.  I’ve carved out Sundays as my day for seeking awe and wonder and by carving out that specific time each week, I’m finding that I can catch smaller glimpses of it throughout the week because I’m in the habit.

I also have found that you need to choose awe and wonder.  We are in an age when this is not the norm, but rather cynicism and ambivalence are touted as the intelligent, mature outlook to embrace.  Awe and wonder are hard to see when you are in this kind of mindset.  If you want to find awe and wonder, you can.  If you are resistant to it or refuse to see it, you can be looking at the Grand Canyon or the Northern Lights and choose to be un-impressed.  

And that brings up the third ingredient which is curiosity.  Remaining curious not only about the world around you but yourself makes room for awe and wonder to show up.  This is simply an openness and a holding loosely to presuppositions that have shaped you.  An example would be saying “I’m too old to swing on the playground swings at sunset.” to “What would it feel like to swing at the park at sunset? What would I notice?”

One of the ways that I like to bring more awe and wonder into my daily life is through painting the things that sparked that sense of awe in the first place.  It can be quite frustrating as I am not the Grand Artist, but I am pleased in trying to capture the beauty that makes me smile and catch my breath.  It helps me remember when my heart is growing hardened by the pain around me or the numbing that can come from routine.  While nature is noted to be one of the best ways to experience awe, taking in expressions of beauty in the form of the creative arts can assist greatly in re-discovering the healing power of awe.  Regardless of the success I have in the display and collection of my work, if my artistic expressions can help others experience a sense of awe during this life and point the way to healing, I would be grateful and humbled.

Whether you are looking up close at the world around you, gazing at a work of art, or taking in the deep layers of personality of another, may you wonder about wonder.