Awe

 

I recently finished the book, “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life” by Dacher Keltner.  He gave many examples from art, literature, nature, humanness that demonstrated those moments that bring us awe.

As I read it, I thought about the moments in my life that brought me awe, and there are probably hundreds?  I guess so much of it depends on the type of person you are, and what you gravitate toward, but I found so many of mine fell into the realm of nature, and also forms of artistic expression.  I distilled some of the most meaningful to me into this short list, and really, part of this exercise or blog post is an invitation to you to think about those moments that have brought you awe.  One thing to consider, and you can probably see it from my list, some of these seem so trivial, but for whatever reason, the moment has stuck with me, and you probably have some similar experiences.

In no particular order (OK, I did put the two most meaningful first):

Wedding Day – There are of course so many aspects of marriage that can bring awe, there is so much about that particular day that can be simply incredible, but there is one thing that really captured me that day.  As I prepared and got ready, and as I stood there, waiting to come out with my best man, Dale, I was really nervous, of course, and really focused on not screwing this moment up.  I know I had a very inward gaze, just wanting to get through all of the pomp and circumstance, and get this day over with.

I then walk out, come to the front of the sanctuary, I turn around, and there are all of these people, some relatives, some close friends, some people I barely know, and some I don’t know at all.  And they’re all looking at me with these huge smiles on their faces.  It is such an incredible moment that these people are here for me, and they are happy for me.  OK, it was brief, it changed quickly once Laurel appeared at the end of the aisle, all the attention went to her, rightfully so, but for that one brief moment, I got to experience all of those eyes and smiles cast upon me. 

First Child – All of the births of our children were amazing in their own way for various reasons, but I’ll focus on the first, since that is the most life-changing.  As many know, the whole process of finding out you’re pregnant, the changes in your life, the changes in the woman’s body (no idea how a woman does it, still amazes me), the long nine months waiting, and then the day, and no idea whatsoever what that day will bring.

And then the day comes, and you experience one of the most incredible moments of your life.  I have a difficult time in general with science, and I still struggle with the whole concept of child birth, but that feeling, when this tiny body comes out, and the screaming begins, it makes me wonder, what is this tiny creature thinking at that moment?  I was so nice and snug and warm, and all of a sudden, lights, noise, cold air!  My sense of wonder and amazement is not just what Laurel and I experienced, but trying to imagine what Megan experienced in that moment.

The Bat Whisperer – When we lived in Georgia, we had a back deck, and a patio table with an umbrella on that deck.  The one day, Laurel went out, and opened up the umbrella.  This tiny bat plopped down onto the table, seemingly dead, it apparently got stuck up in the top of the umbrella when it got closed.  Laurel sensed that the bat wasn’t dead, and she got an eye dropper with water, and slowly dropped water into the bat’s mouth.  Gradually, the bat came back to life, and quickly flew off, able to live another day.  I’m not quite sure what amazed me more, Laurel’s quick thinking, her desire to bring this bat back to life, or that it actually worked.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – For those who know me, particularly the men from my former Small Group, this has always been my “go to” sermon.  Sandy McConnel preached this sermon on November 12, 1995.  Sandy is one of the greatest preachers I’ve ever heard, if not the best, he’s in the top two.  I always lived to hear his sermons in church, he never disappointed.

But, this was a really special one, and I’m not sure if it was him that day or me, maybe it just really hit me like no other.  Sandy told the story of the song from Gordon Lightfoot, and he weaved the history of the true adventure into his sermon.  Then he said that incredible line from the song:

“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”

Again, don’t know if was the power of Sandy’s sermon, or just what was in me at the moment, but the church, mind you, a huge, impressive old church, Westminster Presbyterian Church, grew completely silent when he said that line.  Nothing.  Dead silence.  I can still feel it today, I still experience it, the chill of total silence in such a huge space with so many people sitting there listening.

Niagara Falls – A few years ago, after many years of failing miserably at taking Laurel on a nice vacation, I told her, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.  Hawaii?  Europe?  Australia? Anywhere.  Her answer?  I want to go to Niagara Falls.  Really?

So we went to Niagara Falls.  I had a bazillion hotel points, so we got a suite overlooking the falls, and we spent all of our days at some point, walking along the falls.  I was mesmerized by the power of the water, it was incredible.  I would sit in our hotel room, watching the water rush over the precipice, I would stand right at the point where the water moved from this nice, brisk movement along the top, and then see it cascade over the cliff.  I was enthralled at the power of the water, and the fact that it just never stops, it just keeps on coming, and so many times, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

Snake! – I was sitting in our family room in Georgia, as Laurel walks into the room, she screams.  OK, is that “there’s a burglar” scream, “there’s a mountain lion” scream, but no clue, until I saw it.  We often left our back door open for the dogs to go in and out, and a snake decided to cool off from the hot afternoon sun, and came through the back door. 

I quickly jumped up and found something, a broom in this case, to try to shoo him out the back door.  While I’m not a big fan of snakes, I wanted to know where he was, and get him out, before he found a place to hide in the house.  As I headed toward him, I was surprised at the speed with which he moved, they really look like they’re barely moving, but they’re so fast!  The next “oh shit” moment was the strength, he went along the back wall, and the dog dishes were there, and he flipped them in the air like they were paper plates.  Finally, when I was poking at him with the broom, I was amazed at how far away he could strike.  I had a broom in between him and me, but that wasn’t long enough, he had some serious spring to him.  Thankfully, he finally got frustrated, and headed back from whence he came.

Up, Up and Away – This one begs for some background.  Years ago, Laurel and I took one of our few vacations, and the vacation we took was to the south of France.  As a part of the vacation, we had the opportunity to take a hot air balloon ride.  Key point in all of this is that I’m deathly afraid of heights.  I thought I’d be able to deal with it, but no, I really struggled, and didn’t enjoy it very much at all.

Thirty years later or so, again, Laurel and I were in the south of France, this time on a yoga retreat, and again, we were taking a hot air balloon ride.  I was nervous, I worried I would fall back into my normal desire to sit in the bottom of the basket, but this time, it was different.  I really enjoyed it, and truly got to experience it.

What captured me was the quiet, and of course, it’s not completely quiet, you have the sound of the balloon being maintained with the fire, but there is so much serenity to floating across the fields, seeing and hearing the cows, the sheep, the dogs, all of the animals below, wondering what the hell is up there making that noise?  When I was able to truly enjoy it, and experience it, the quiet, the peacefulness, the serenity, really brought me into such a beautiful feeling.  I’m so thankful I had a second chance.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider – I was on a retreat with my former Small Group, and we were at a cabin, sitting out on the deck, drinking a beer, and talking.  Up in the rafters, there was a spider busily building his web, it was an incredible web, very large, very impressive.  All of a sudden, and I never knew spiders did this, and of course, I had never seen it done before or since, he quickly took his web down.  As fast as the web went up, the web came back down, and he was gone.  I was filled with astonishment seeing a tiny creature like that work so diligently to build his web, and with the same workman-like quality, take it back down again that quickly.

Nights in White Satin – Years ago, I would send jokes into a radio station in Dayton, and we’d get free tickets to go see various groups in concert at Riverbend in Cincinnati or other venues.  One of those wins was tickets to go see the Moody Blues at Riverbend.  It just so happened that Dale, my best man, worked for a TV station in Cincinnati, and he offered me tickets also to that same concert.  So we took a neighbor, we gave them our tickets, and used the tickets Dale gave us.

From the radio station, we had backstage passes to meet the band, we got an autographed song book, and we then found our seats for the concert.  We were about 10 rows back, center stage.  It was the Moody Blues, not quite in their prime, but close, with a full orchestra.  I’ve never experienced a concert like that, and I’m fairly positive, I never will.  I was struck with amazement at how well the group could mesh with the orchestra, and make it into a wonderful sound, and visual, experience.

Sea Lions on Fisherman’s Wharf – When I was with Barco, I took a business trip to San Francisco, and can’t remember for the life of me why, I ended up on Fisherman’s Wharf.  It was a nice day, so I was just standing, overlooking the harbor, and there were a bunch of sea lions on the docks.  They played, or I assume played, this continual game, where one would swim around, and plop up onto the dock, and they’d all start barking, and then one would jump off, swim around, and eventually plop back up on the dock, and they’d all start barking.  This game, or whatever it was, was endless.  I probably stood there for an hour or so just amazed that it just kept going and going and going.  They never seemed to tire of it, and frankly, neither did I.

I Want to Die Easy – Years ago, Westminster Presbyterian Church had a special musical event, featuring the Central State Chorus.  The Central State Chorus performs around the country, they were incredibly talented, and we had the opportunity to see them again last year, and that hasn’t changed.

The whole performance was outstanding, but there was one chilling moment, when they were singing the spiritual, “I Want To Die Easy”.  The song is powerful, in and of itself, but partway through, this young lady broke into a solo, and all of a sudden, her voice traveled up my spine.  I’ve never heard a voice like that, and I’ve never felt a voice like that, but the feeling running through my body was breathtaking, and I’ve never heard or felt something like that again.

Honk – Have you ever really watched geese?  I think most of us have experienced geese flying in formation, as common as it can be, it’s still fascinating.  Have you ever seen them land in water?  When we built our building with WIKA in Lewis Center, we had a retention pond right next to us, and the geese would swoop down, and right before they hit the water, they would untuck their feet, and start peddling really fast, so as they hit the water, they were already paddling away.  Really incredible the precision of their execution.

But, what really captured me was their communication.  I’d watch them out in the field, outside my window (I know, I should have been working, but they were so much fun to watch!), and just marvel at the communication amongst them.  The honking, the hissing, but mostly, the body language.  Wings spread wide, wings flapping, bobbing head, lowered head, neck pumping, so much talking back and forth, they never seemed to stop talking, even when they weren’t making a sound.

Grand Canyon – To be honest, it’s indescribable.  I’ve told people, I can’t explain the Grand Canyon, you can’t experience it with pictures or videos, you have to see it.  Laurel and I have taken two helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon, and flying there, seeing it from a distance, landing there, standing there, it’s a wonder of nature.  No, it’s indescribable, it is one of the most breathtaking sights I’ve ever seen, but you have to go see it, you won’t regret it.  I still find it hard to believe that it actually exists.

Cirque du Soleil – I remember the first time I ever experienced Cirque du Soleil, it was on a business trip to Las Vegas with my colleagues from WIKA.  We were sitting about halfway up the arena, and my boss, Michael Gerster, was giddy like a little kid.  To put it in perspective, Michael is a young guy like me, but he is tall and has this imposing presence, so it was really fun to see a grown man so excited.  Prior to the show, they had a clown walking through the crowd, playing various tricks, and I guess Michael was a prime target.  The clown put a bucket of popcorn on Michael’s head, and to be honest, I don’t remember the rest, but Michael loved it.

Once I saw this show, I was hooked completely.  I’ve probably “only” seen Cirque du Soleil 5-6 more times after that show, but it never disappoints.  I would sit there fascinated, in complete awe of what the performers could do, trapeze artists, contortionists, gymnasts, displays of grace, strength, balance, and while I’m sure they could tell you where they erred, where something went wrong, I still don’t remember a single mishap.  The performers executed unbelievable acts flawlessly in my eyes.

As I sat and thought about what brought me awe, these are the ones that stuck out the most.  I’m sure Laurel, or my children will say, what about?  I’m sure there will be many what abouts, and I’ll say, how could I have forgotten that one?  Actually, that will be the fun part for me, as I noted above, I hope you think about those moments that brought you awe, and I’m hopeful some people remind me of moments that brought me awe that didn’t quite make the short list.  I can relive them again, just like I’m reliving these.