Let loose your curiosity gene and explore the wonders of our world.
The psychologist Dacher Keltner in his recent book shows the beneficial effects of awe on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The research reveals that experiencing awe can reduce stress, quiet our inner critic, and inspire us to act more altruistically toward the people around us. The experience of awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that exceeds our current understanding of the world. It is the feeling of being overwhelmed by something larger than the self. For example, watching stars in the night sky reminds us of the universe beyond our experience. The experience is indescribable and beyond words. Awe comes in many forms, such as great music, visual design, and people’s courage, kindness, or strength in overcoming adversity. Our experiences of awe are accompanied by tears, chills, and goosebumps.
Experience
Elsa Gidlow
Now you are gone I kiss your dented pillow
And wonder if it hungers like my breast
For the dear head we both have held in rest.
I said once: Love alone cannot assuage
My thirst, my hunger, love has no reply
For that wild questioning, for this fierce cry.
I said: there is no kiss can feed me now.
Perhaps love is life’s flower: I seek the root.
Yea, I have loved and love is dead sea fruit.
Yet, I lie here and kiss your dented pillow,
A trembling girl who loves you overmuch––
A harp in anguish for the player’s touch.
“All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience.”
~ Henry Miller
“All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art ~ (Jorge Luis Borges.”
Wow, how do you like these words by Jorge Luis Borges? We are the sum of our experiences. If we love ourselves, we have our experiences to thank for shaping us, making us stronger, tougher, more resilient, and more loving. It’s a good reason to forgive those who’ve hurt us, they’ve been great teachers.
“Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.”
Did you know how rich you are? I’m not speaking of investments, bank accounts, or other forms of accumulated wealth. I’m speaking of the treasure of knowledge, wisdom, and experience you’ve collected throughout your life. Think about how much you know and the wide diversity of your knowledge. Each day you’ve lived you’ve learned something, intentionally or unintentionally and gained both knowledge and experience. When you tie knowledge and experience together you produce a unique form of wisdom that no one else has. When you consider all the knowledge, experience, and wisdom you have, you have to admit that you can do anything you put your mind to doing. Why not do something great. C’mon, you can do it. You have everything you need.
Do You Have Common Sense? I recall a Sunday dinner with my dad and mom, brother and his wife, and my family and me. It was a typical Italian Sunday dinner, we argued and argued. When my brother and I (we both had doctorates at the time) believed we had my dad pinned down, he said, “You two have doctorates, but they forgot to teach you common sense.” Well, he left us speechless. Common sense? No, we hadn’t had a course in it. The more I thought about it, he was speaking of an ability to understand people and perceive what they are thinking and talking about. In another way, he was saying get off your high horse and understand what the average person experiences and thinks. it was a good and lasting lesson for me.
There are 24 hours in a day comprised of 1440 minutes and 86400 seconds. Each person on our planet has the exact same amount of time. Time doesn’t classify by wealth, place of birth, or religious belief. How we use our time writes the story of our life. Each 24 hours is a chapter. One page (an hour) doesn’t make a day, there are still 23 hours remaining. We often give the negative experience power well beyond the time of its existence. If we isolate a negative experience to the one hour of its existence we can tell ourselves, “I’ve still got time to make it a great day.” Yes we do. Take control of your time.
What if I decided that for today I would not talk about myself, I’d just listen? Did I say OUCH? We like to express our thoughts, tell about our experiences, and reminisce. I recall a funny scene when my dad and my father-in-law were sitting in the living room. My dad was telling my father-in-law about his golf game. My father-in-law was talking about fishing. Both were talking about their experiences, yet, neither one was listening to the other. Afterward, both my dad and father-in-law told me how much they enjoyed speaking to each other. Each of us is filled to overflowing with a desire to express the stuff that makes up our lives. It’s hard when no one is willing to listen. I think I’ll make it a listening day and give some friends a chance to empty their bucket.
