Awe

It’s everywhere, if you know how to look

Hello, friends,

As I’ve been discovering more about myself over the past year, I’ve felt something that I couldn’t quite put into words. The closest I could come was describing my general outlook as thinking life is pretty awesome. Obviously, there are parts that are not so awesome, and of course I feel plenty of hard emotions like everyone else. But I always come back to the belief that there’s a limitless number of things to be grateful for and marvel at.

I adore the TV show Friends and can’t count how many times I’ve seen every episode. One that has been top of mind for me a lot this year is the one Alec Baldwin guest starred in. He plays a very positive, enthusiastic guy Phoebe is dating. (Check out the first 1:20 of this clip, and this clip.)

This is the kind of energy I’m talking about. Maybe not quite to the level of this Parker character (he is exaggerated for comic effect, after all), but you get the gist.

The other day I was listening to a podcast about the science of awe. The guest on the podcast was Dacher Keltner, who wrote a book called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (which is now at the top of my to-read list). Keltner has identified 8 “wonders of awe,” from nature and music to spirituality and “collective effervescence,” a delightful concept that refers to the shared energy and unity felt in large groups (he says like at a sporting event, but my mind immediately went to theatre).

I’ve certainly had some “life is awesome” moments in all of these areas. One of my favorite theatre events is the annual Columbus Broadway season announcement party—sitting in the dark surrounded by other people who love theatre as much as I do and feeling the passion and excitement as each new show for the next season is unveiled fills my heart to bursting. On a smaller scale, I feel a swell of joy and kinship every time I watch a chickadee on my bird feeder. I’ve had moments that felt transcendent while I was meditating, and I’ve been moved to tears by music a million times.

I realize now these are all moments of awe.

Being a word person, I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t get this before now. (It’s even more ironic that the best I could come up with was “a feeling that life is awesome”—awe was right there, staring me in the face, and I still didn’t get it.)

But awe is now the third word on a Post-it note hanging from my computer monitor with a list of my intentions for 2026, along with presence and acceptance.

Butterflies and the whole chrysalis thing always fill me with awe

On the podcast, they talked about the idea of “awe walks,” another charming phrase I want to adopt. The idea is simple—just take a walk (no earbuds or other distractions) and look for things that inspire a feeling of awe. Honestly, this is what I do when I stop and observe nature for 5 minutes every day. But I like the phrase “awe walk,” and I like the idea of a whole walk devoted to searching for awe. And it doesn’t have to be inspired by nature. They mentioned people taking awe walks in the city too, so maybe I’ll go hunting for awe in less obvious places.

The point is that it’s not about the thing so much as it is about our reaction to it. In the Friends episode, Parker is enthralled by a plate dispenser at the buffet, and every time I start my car from the comfort of my apartment with the click of a button, knowing when I go outside into 20-degree weather, I’ll have a nice toasty car to climb into, I find that pretty freakin’ awesome.

Warmly (no pun intended),

Brie

P.S. What inspires you with awe?