One Apple A Day #485 - being in awe
Last week I was in Rome and, no matter how many time I've already visited, I'm always in awe before the majesty of the buildings, temples, fountains, squares, churches, palaces. Everything in Rome is monumental. I was reminded of this article I read about the positive effect of experiencing awe in our life.
Being before a temple that is more than 2000 years old, forced me to redefine my perspective on time. It the same feeling I had when I was driving in Patagonia. That vastity redefined my perspective on space. Art is another source of awe, a glimpse into the vastity of human beauty and creativity.
According to Amie Gordon, PhD, Principal Research Scientist in the Emotion, Health, and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of California-San Francisco, awe is about novelty and vastness. Something that doesn’t fit with what we already know and forces us to change our perspective.
It would be easy to think that the only sources of awe are external experiences. But look at children, they live in a state of awe. Because they know less they create the experience of newness and vastity our of everything.
We should learn from them the art of being inspired.