Living in Awe & Wonder
An Antidote to Surviving Chaotic Times Through the Power of Intention
Many folks just aren’t morning people.
But I find the hour leading up to dawn, and the liminality of it all, to be rather tantalizing, especially during the winter months. The routine 5.10am wake up, ritual caffeine making, unpacking the dishwasher, and cranking up the fireplace. Nestling into the sofa, curtains drawn back, lights out, sitting in the dark sipping strong, hot coffee whilst glimpsing the final moments of the night sky as the stars fade into the abyss.
I open my iPad, head straight to YouTube, select something inspirational to listen to, continue to gaze at the flames dancing, and let my mind meander down pathways to nowhere in particular.
However, on this Saturday, bright & early, there was this little, old lady staring up at me with the most beautiful, etched face and twinkling eyes. “To Be In Awe - WISDOM from a 96 year old”. The temptation was too much.
I was utterly transfixed. My heart felt like bursting. My throat constricting with emotion. This dear soul had me in awe. Totally.
The journey only lasted 12.05 minutes but it set the wheels in motion for this essay.
I hope you to find awe and wonder every, single day of your life.
“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke
The Restless Pulse of Our Age
In these days, when the world seems to tremble under the weight of its own uncertainties, we find ourselves on a precipice, where the noise of our times drowns out the subtler rhythms of existence. The relentless tide of information, the clamor of crises, and the ceaseless pursuit of progress have conspired to create a cacophony that echoes through our lives. It is a chaos that grips us not only externally but internally as well, as we struggle to maintain our footing in an ever-shifting landscape.
Amidst this chaos, there is a yearning—perhaps faint, but unmistakable—for something more profound, something that transcends the transient and the trivial.
We crave not merely survival, but a kind of living that reawakens us to the grandeur of existence. This essay is a meditation on that yearning, and on the antidote it offers to our present tumult: the deliberate cultivation of awe and wonder through the power of intention.
For in awe, we touch something vast and ineffable, a force that humbles and elevates in equal measure. And in wonder, we rekindle the curiosity and openness that so often withers in the harsh light of reason and routine. These qualities are not passive experiences, to be stumbled upon by chance; they are states of being that we can choose to inhabit, if only we have the courage to set our intentions toward them.
The Sacredness of Awe
What is awe, if not the recognition of a mystery greater than ourselves? It is the experience of standing before the infinite, the unknowable, and feeling our own smallness within it. And yet, this smallness is not a diminishment, but a liberation—a surrender to something far larger than the confines of our individual lives.
Awe is what we feel when the night sky, vast and indifferent, stretches out above us, its stars like scattered embers of a fire that has burned since time began. It is what we feel when we witness the birth of a child, or the stillness of a forest at dawn, or the crashing of waves against an ancient shore. These moments, fleeting though they may be, have the power to draw us out of ourselves, to connect us to the timeless and the eternal.
In the face of awe, our daily concerns shrink to their proper proportions. The noise of the world fades, and we are left with a deep, resonant silence—a silence that speaks to us of the sacredness of life. It is a silence that whispers of mysteries we cannot name, of forces we cannot control, and of a beauty that lies beyond all understanding.
To live in awe is to live in the presence of this sacredness. It is to approach the world not as a problem to be solved, but as a wonder to be embraced. And it is to recognize that, in the end, it is not knowledge that sustains us, but reverence. For knowledge, though powerful, is finite; reverence, by contrast, is boundless, opening us to the infinite possibilities of existence.
The Childlike Heart of Wonder
If awe is the recognition of the vastness beyond us, then wonder is the response of the heart to that vastness. It is the childlike curiosity that sees the world not as a fixed reality, but as a place of endless discovery. Wonder asks us to approach life not with the hard gaze of certainty, but with the soft eyes of possibility.
In wonder, we find the ability to be surprised, to be delighted, to be moved by the simple and the everyday.
It is the spark that ignites the imagination, the seed from which creativity grows. Where awe humbles us, wonder lifts us, inviting us to explore, to question, to dream.
There is a profound innocence in wonder, a purity that refuses to be tainted by cynicism or despair. It is the innocence of a child who marvels at the flight of a bird or the changing colors of the leaves, who finds joy in the first snowfall or the laughter of a friend. This innocence is not ignorance; it is a conscious choice to see the world with fresh eyes, to remain open to the newness that is always present, even in the familiar.
To cultivate wonder is to reclaim this innocence, to allow ourselves to be astonished by the world once again. It is to resist the urge to explain away the mysteries of life, and instead to dwell within them, to let them stir our souls. For wonder is not a fleeting emotion, but a way of being—a way of engaging with life that is both playful and profound.
The Power of Intention
But how, in the midst of chaos, can we hold on to awe and wonder? How can we keep our hearts open to the beauty of the world when the world so often feels overwhelming? The answer lies in intention—in the deliberate and conscious choice to cultivate these states of being, even when it is difficult to do so.
Intention is the thread that weaves awe and wonder into the fabric of our daily lives. It is the act of setting our minds and hearts toward the experiences that nourish us, that deepen our connection to the world and to ourselves. Without intention, awe and wonder remain sporadic, accidental; with intention, they become a practice, a way of life.
To live with intention is to move through the world with purpose, to direct our attention toward that which sustains us. It is to choose, again and again, to seek out moments of awe, to embrace the wonder that is always available to us, if only we are willing to look for it. This requires a certain discipline—a discipline not of rigidity, but of presence. It asks us to slow down, to breathe, to notice the details of our surroundings, to listen deeply to the silence that lies beneath the noise.
Intention is also an act of faith, a belief that the world is not merely chaotic, but infused with meaning, if we are willing to find it. It is the faith that, even in the darkest of times, there is light to be discovered, beauty to be uncovered, wonder to be felt. And it is the faith that our lives, no matter how small, are part of something much larger—a grand, unfolding mystery that we can only glimpse, but never fully grasp.
Resilience in the Face of Chaos
In a world that often feels chaotic and uncertain, awe and wonder offer us not just solace, but strength. They are not escapist fantasies, but anchors that ground us in the deeper realities of existence.
By cultivating these states of being, we build resilience—not the hard, brittle resilience of mere survival, but the supple, enduring resilience of those who are deeply rooted in the beauty of life.
Resilience, in this sense, is not about hardening ourselves against the world, but about softening into it. It is about finding strength not in resistance, but in acceptance—in the willingness to let life touch us, even when it hurts. Awe and wonder remind us that, despite the chaos, there is always something worth marveling at, something worth cherishing, something worth loving.
This resilience is not a solitary endeavor, but a communal one. For awe and wonder have a way of drawing us together, of creating connections that transcend our differences. They remind us that we are all part of the same story, the same vast, mysterious narrative that is unfolding in ways we cannot predict. In this recognition, we find solidarity, a shared sense of purpose that can sustain us through even the most difficult of times.
The Practice of Awe and Wonder
How, then, can we bring awe and wonder more fully into our lives? How can we make them not just occasional visitors, but constant companions on our journey through life?
The answer lies in practice. Just as we cultivate physical health through exercise, so too can we cultivate awe and wonder through intentional practice. This practice need not be complex; it can be as simple as taking a moment each day to pause, to breathe, to look around and truly see what is before us.
One way to practice awe is to spend time in nature, to immerse ourselves in the natural world and allow its beauty to speak to us.
Whether it is the majesty of a mountain range, the tranquility of a forest, or the vastness of the ocean, nature has a way of evoking awe that is both humbling and uplifting. But awe can also be found in the small things—the delicate pattern of a leaf, the play of light on water, the song of a bird at dawn. By paying attention to these details, we open ourselves to the wonder that is always present, even in the most ordinary of moments.
Wonder, too, can be cultivated through practice. It begins with curiosity, with the willingness to ask questions, to explore, to discover. It is nurtured by creativity, by engaging in activities that allow us to express our imagination and our sense of play. Whether it is through art, music, writing, or simply daydreaming, we can keep our sense of wonder alive by making space for it in our lives.
Mindfulness is another powerful tool for cultivating awe and wonder. By practicing mindfulness, we train ourselves to be fully present in the moment, to observe without judgment, to experience without distraction. In this state of presence, we are more likely to encounter the awe and wonder that surround us, to be moved by the beauty of the world, and to feel a deep sense of gratitude for the gift of being alive.
A New Paradigm for Living
To live in awe and wonder is to embrace a new paradigm for living, one that is rooted not in fear or scarcity, but in reverence and abundance.
It is to recognize that life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived, and that our role in this mystery is not to conquer it, but to participate in it with grace and humility.
This paradigm challenges the dominant narratives of our time, which so often equate success with control, power, and accumulation. Instead, it invites us to redefine success as the ability to remain open, to be touched by life, to be moved by its beauty and its pain, and to respond with love and compassion. It asks us to shift our focus from doing to being, from achieving to experiencing, from consuming to appreciating.
In this paradigm, chaos is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced as part of the natural order of things. It is the fertile ground from which new possibilities arise, the space in which creativity and transformation occur. By living in awe and wonder, we learn to dance with chaos, to find harmony within its rhythms, and to discover the hidden patterns that connect all things.
Choosing to Live in Awe and Wonder
As we stand at the threshold of a new moment in history, we are faced with a choice: to continue living in the old ways, driven by fear and the desire for control, or to embrace a new way of being, guided by awe, wonder, and intention. This choice is not an easy one, for it requires us to let go of the familiar and step into the unknown. But it is a choice that holds the promise of a richer, more meaningful life—a life that is not just about surviving, but about truly living.
To live in awe and wonder is to choose a path of humility, curiosity, and love. It is to see the world not as a place of scarcity and competition, but as a place of abundance and connection. It is to approach each day with the intention of being fully present, fully alive, fully aware of the beauty that surrounds us. And it is to recognize that, in the end, the greatest mysteries are not those that can be solved, but those that can only be lived.
In this spirit, let us set our intentions toward awe and wonder. Let us cultivate the practices that open our hearts to the sacredness of life. Let us seek out the moments that take our breath away, that fill us with gratitude, that remind us of our place in the vast, unfolding story of the universe. And let us remember that, even in the midst of chaos, there is always something to be marveled at, something to be cherished, something to be loved.
For it is in living with awe and wonder that we find the antidote to chaos, the path to resilience, and the key to a life that is not only survived, but truly, deeply, beautifully lived.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I truly hope that it makes your day… even in a small way, even for a minute.
Nikoletta xx