by Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.
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One of the psychological tragedies of adult American life is the loss of 
the sense of awe. When rescued recently from a recent blizzard in the 
Smokey mountains, a teenage girl referred to the experience of being 
lost for three days in the storm as "awesome." Referring to novel and 
exciting experiences as "awesome" has become commonplace. 

But the true meaning of that word usually is lost. 
To a young child (three and younger), every experience is new. 
The toddler is curious and awestruck by almost everything. 
We can accurately say that when we are children, we viewed the 
experiences of being alive as "awesome." 
Spiritual traditions in all the world's religions recognize the personal 
value of viewing life with a "beginners mind." 
Buddhist mystics seek to experience every single moment of their 
lives as "new." 
Christian mystics call this attitude as viewing all of life as "sacred." 
Psychologists often refer to this approach as a "sense of wonder." 
Teenagers call it "awesome." Life Coaches call in "joyful living." 

When we grow older however, this sense of wonder or sacredness 
of each moment seems to diminish. We begin to think of ourselves 
as "cool" when we are surprised by nothing. We take everything 
for granted and go off seeking a new and more stimulating novelty. 
Sometimes that search for excitement turns violent or fatal. 
If we recaptured our child-like sense of awe at all life experiences, 
we would not have to seek stimulation in the huge, the dramatic, 
the best, the tragic, the ecstatic. 

We could satisfy our apparent need for novelty and excitement
 in our daily experiences. We can remember the sacredness of our 
being alive and the awesomeness of Life itself. Actually, all things 
in themselves, all places, all activities, all of nature, all people 
are inherently sacred because they are creations of Life as it 
evolves on this planet. We still do not know how things come 
into being and go out of being...an ongoing, repetitive cycle of 
existence. We can recover our attitude of awe...our sense of 
the sacred. We might begin by recalling moments that have been 
truly "awe inspiring" for us: the birth of our baby, an unexpected 
healing, an event of nature, a "peak experience." 

The following inner exercises might be tried as a way of 
re-developing our sense of the awesome in daily experience. 
Before eating any food, think about how the food got to your table. 
How did it get to the store? How many people were involved in the 
making of the food?...farmers, harvesters, manufacturers, processors, 
distributors, clerks, deliverers, cooks and servers. Go further back to 
the seed, soil and rain. Consider it all and let your mind say "wow" to 
all that went into your first mouthful of food. 

Go outside on some clear night and gaze at the moon and stars. 
Realize that some of the light from those stars actually left the star 
surface millions and millions of years ago. And you are seeing it for 
the first time now. Observe the beauty of a flower. How did all 
that color, shape and texture develop from that little seed or bulb? 
What is the force that resulted in such a beautiful and delicate creation? 
Get to know your body and how it works. It is truly amazing and complex 
in its anatomy and function. Hold a common object in your hand 
a tool, dish, pen, and really look at it, thinking about all that went into 
its design, production, material and original idea in the human mind. 
Gaze upon your sleeping child. Look into the face of another human
 being and become aware of the marvel that is human life. 
You get the idea. The sense of wonder is a human attitude. 
With such an attitude, your experience of every moment of your 
life can become joyful ... 
truly awesome. 



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