Proven Way to Joy #20: Connect with the spirit and soul in whatever way works for you. Awaken awe, wonder, and amazement for what you encounter in life.
When was the last time you found yourself in complete awe? What was it that caused that awe-struck feeling? Was it a panoramic view at the end of a long hike? Did you watch the sunrise over the Atlantic and witness the sky and world come alive in a burst of chromatic colors? Was it a field of wildflowers that caught your eye on a long drive down a lonely road? There are truly infinite awe-inspiring moments; you just have to open your eyes to them.
Beauty and wonder is all around us. In the smallest details of the nature world, there are captivating works of art that are often overlooked because we forget to stop and look. W.B. Yeats put it quite perfectly in that, “the world is full of magic things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
Our senses have been dulled down due to the over stimulation of technology and our technology driven lives. Our eyes find themselves more often focused on a cell phone, a computer screen, or television than on pelicans flying overhead in perfect formation at the beach, on yellow butterflies quietly pollinating flowers in the yard, or the celestial lighting of the sky following the setting of the sun. We miss the bigger picture because we fail to look up.
It is the wings of iridescent Luna moths, in the song of the morning birds, the smell of the pines after a rainstorm, and the taste of salt on your lips after a dip in the ocean that has this unparalleled ability to ground and heal us. John Muir once said, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal the body and soul. “
Every living and nonliving entity is interconnected. Together we make up the world. There is a beautiful energy that flows through our world and is exuded in different forms, like the intricate patterns of coral, the seductive colors of a peacock’s tail feathers, the enveloping fragrance of frangipanis, or the deep-set dimples on a smiling face. We can harness this energy simply by taking notice of it. It is all around us. It is this spark that has the power to release joy biochemicals in our brains, which are responsible for our level of happiness.
There is something worthy of our attention, even if just for a sweet moment, around us at all times. When you learn to look you might be surprised at what you see. It is often in the little things that we find something much grander. Happiness blossoms from these small things. Feed your soul with the energy of our natural world! Find that energy by simply opening your eyes to it.