Walking to work this morning, I happened to look up in the sky before entering Central Park and found myself gazing at a beautiful full Moon in the early morning sky. The beauty of the moon just hanging there reminded me that I was walking on the surface of a planet that slowly turns in its orbit, that is one small speck in a vast universe. I also remembered that it isn’t the Moon that’s rising and setting; it’s the planet that’s turning, moving the Moon through the sky by the motion of the planet itself.

Whenever I rediscover the Moon, or have an opportunity to see stars – which doesn’t happen often in the city – my awareness is pulled out toward space and I recall the immensity of the cosmos. It is truly awe-inspiring each and every time I reconnect with this sense of the grandeur of the universe in which we live. Inevitably, I find myself filled with wonder.

Seeing the Grand Canyon, watching a brilliant sunset, looking at a beautiful work of art, hearing music that stirs the soul, looking at photographs from the Hubble telescope that reveal pictures of far-off galaxies and the birth of stars, also remind us that there is more to our lives than the right-in-front-of-us concerns of daily life. Spending time experiencing awe is like taking vitamins, in that it can serve to enhance a sense of well-being. Sometimes, when we get caught up in the demands of daily life, our vision narrows and we forget to look around at the wonder waiting to be discovered.

For this week, I’d like to invite you to be aware of those moments in your life, and of those things that enter your life, that bring with them a sense of awe and/or wonder. To be reminded that we are part of something mysterious, something we can’t truly encompass except in moments of awe, offers an opportunity to expand our awareness, to touch more than the “everyday”. This doesn’t mean you won’t also be aware of the things that call for your attention, the little irritations in a day, and all the regular “stuff of life.” What it does mean is that we constantly inhabit a world bigger than we often take the time to notice, and that our psyche benefits from moments of awe and inspiration. It’s a kind of psychological food that we need more than we realize.

Also, when you do discover moments of awe and/or wonder, take a moment to notice how your body responds. Become aware of the sensations that arise when you are in a state of awe. Allow yourself some time to just be present to those sensations and notice what happens when you offer sensations arising from awe your undivided attention.

As with all experiments, bring curiosity to this one, rather than any “shoulds”. There’s nothing actually to do. There’s no right answer or right way to engage this experiment. There’s just an invitation to notice delightful moments of awe and wonder that jump out at you at unexpected times. Then, notice how you feel when you take the time to register the wonder around you, when you allow yourself to be “awe-inspired” by something. If you find that you haven’t discovered anything that brings awe or wonder, be curious about what would help you focus on these aspects of the life around you.

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