Awe and letting go... part one

Awe is a beautiful feeling. It may be as close to the surreal or divine as we can get. It may be what makes us believe in the surreal or divine. Standing on top of a tall mountain, gazing at the vastness and the littleness of a world beneath is awe. A dazzling golden amber sunset is awe. Gazing at a new-born is awe.  A magnificent monument is awe. A child discovering things for the first time is awe. A resplendent work of art – be it a poem, painting, music, or dance composition is awe.

Yes, awe can fill and flood our senses. It can make our existence seem larger than life. It can give a dreamlike dimension to our surroundings. Yes awe can be a beautiful thing.

I am clueless as to why I chose to write on this topic. I suspect it may have something to do with a certain two-facedness that awe involves, and I decided to write two pieces. I will probably contradict myself. I will probably challenge myself. But I do feel awe has two dimensions and I wish to look at both.

For this piece, I will stay with the surreal and divine awe  - the kind that inspires, the kind that makes you believe in the unbelievable. It’s the awe I experienced swimming at midnight in the middle of a bioluminescence bay. When I moved my hand and watched streams of light erupt in the dark murky waters. I felt like Tinker Bell with her magic wand. It made be believe in magic and all things surreal. I wondered how much magic laid tucked away in nature and our world. I wondered how I could discover it all.  I simply swam in awe.

Without a doubt, all of us can recall experiences of awe in our lifetime. Times when you felt part of a greater whole; times when you were struck by the beauty of existence; times when you felt so much taller, stronger, powerful… or perhaps, humbled and much much smaller. Like the awe I experienced standing in the middle of nowhere, staring through a telescope our friend had built (more awe right there); staring at the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn and the whole Andromeda galaxy. Yes a whole galaxy right in front of my eyes. Just how small was I? Just how insignificant was this city, this earth, this world? It made me believe in God. It made me believe in tiny Martian men. There was vastness and mystery right before my eyes and beyond what I would ever see. I was in awe. I remained in awe.

Yes awe is a beautiful thing. It is a kind of letting go. We let go of ourselves and our existence. We are swept into a larger power that surrounds us and inspires us. We relinquish our being and merge into a greater force before us, around us, surrounding us. Yes. Awe is a beautiful thing.