From weltschmerz to awe..

I have had a few conversations with students after class about feeling overwhelmed by not just work and end of year deadlines, but also, ya know, the state of the world. They call it weltschmerz in German. It is translated as “world pain.” There isn’t an equivalent in English, but it is an experience we can all relate to. Weltschmerz is defined by Frederick Beiser as, “a mood of weariness or sadness about life arising from the acute awareness of evil and suffering.” I have also heard it described by those of a spiritual persuasion as being equally overwhelmed by the joy and the pain of existence. It implies both a vulnerability and also an openness to see that existence contains both unspeakable sadness as well as boundless joy, wonder and awe at the beauty of life.

I decided a few months ago to take a break from listening to the news. The constant barrage of negative news was not inspiring me to take any action, and indeed made me feel quite hopeless and ineffectual. So I said no more. Now I use the early morning time I would have spent listening to news instead consuming more thoughtful and inspiring podcasts, or taking a longer walk with my dog in nature and just being in awe of the beauty around me (and the love of my dog of course).

I use the word awe deliberately because I listened to a podcast on the very subject titled Basic Goodness and Awe by Tara Brach and Dacher Keltner. Give it a Sunday listen. I bet it will change your mood from contracting and fearful to open and problem-solving. Because those are a few of the benefits of putting ourselves in situations to experience awe. To practice awe regularly. This is what I have been practicing more of, without knowing what it actually was and how it was working on and within me.

But first off, what is it? Awe is something we all experience - humans and animals alike. Greater Good magazine describes it as,

“the feeling we get in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world, like looking up at millions of stars in the night sky or marveling at the birth of a child.”

We can feel awe in a lot of different experiences - in awe of a person we love, of something in nature, or great works of art, music, theatre or dance. It can arise in the everyday or in things that only happen at certain times or places - like seeing the Aurora borealis or witnessing the breaking of a world record on TV at the Olympics. Little babies or children experience awe with simple things like the magic of moving their fingers in front of their eyes. New puppies experience awe when they see a bird or a butterfly for the first time, or feel sunshine on their cute furry faces. I bet even when you visualize that image it is doing something to you. Isn’t it?

We can experience awe in the everyday - like when we see the trees suddenly blanketed in snow, or the first blooms of spring flowers. Awe feels pretty awesome (that word actually means full of awe!) AND it helps our mental and physical health and even our work and productive life. And dare I say it is an antidote to the days we live in, which can feel sad and even hopeless at times.

University of California-Berkeley researcher Dacher Keltner researches awe and has found that awe leads people to greater feelings of connectivity and cooperation. Just showing respondents photos of Google Earth or National Geographic images lead to greater desires among people to cooperate, share resources, and sacrifice for others. Through experiencing awe or being in the presence of vast things that take our breath away, we are called forth to be more modest, less self interested and even kinder to others.

Experiencing awe stimulates curiosity, problem-solving and a general desire to understand how people and things work. Some may call that empathy. Wonder and awe can drive people to paradigm-shifting discoveries and new technologies - think Darwin, Einstein or even Steve Jobs.

I encourage you to put down your device and stand out on your balcony or back yard. Switch your commute time to work to build awe-time into it. Take the long way through the park or along the water. Listen to a great piece of classical music in your car. Book a cultural event or join me in the bucket list destination of Angkor Wat over Easter. It is usually described as awe-inspiring. I build these things into my life to keep hopeful. To build wonder and discovery into my day, my week and my year. To connect to the small of us which is connected to the whole of us. And that’s pretty awe-some.