Wondering About Wonder

"Somewhere through life, many of us have lost our capacity for joy and wonder and exchanged it for the continuous but low-level stress and ennui of the mundane."? – Andrew Hollow

This line from a friend of ours made us think about the importance of wonder and awe. Wouldn’t you rather feel radically alive?than bored, disinterested, or so caught up in the toils and troubles of daily life that you miss out on its multitudes of marvels?

University of Michigan psychologist Ethan Kross defines awe as “the wonder we feel when we encounter something powerful that we can’t easily explain.” From a neuroscience perspective, wonder is an emotion you feel when a sensory stimulus provides new and expansive challenges to the limbic circuits in the brain. ?

In addition to feeling inspired and energized, here are three benefits of awe and wonder:

1. Transcend yourself. Wonder allows us to see the vastness of what is possible and appreciate the beauty and power of the world around us. By expanding our mental models and stimulating new ways of thinking, creativity and innovation increase.
2. Chill out. Wonder can help decrease our mental chatter and worries and help us think about ideas, issues, and people outside of ourselves, improving creativity and collaboration and increasing our internal energy.
3. Connect with the good. Wonder can promote sustained excavation of the rich causal architectures of the world, help us to appreciate everything around us more fully, and fight back against the numbness that seizes us in the modern world and blinds us to the better aspects of our humanity.

Some ways to increase awe and wonder: Identify music or movies that inspire you. Ask questions like “What took your breath away this week?” or “What made you glad you’re on this planet?” Open the “Astronomy Picture of the Day” website. Approach things from new angles or fresh perspectives. Cultivate your sense of wonder to transcend yourself, chill out and connect with the good. ?

ACTION:?Slow down. Stop. Look around. Try new things. Seek out the novel. Place yourself in nature and deeply notice it.