Awe and Wonder in Nature - When Did You Last Let Something Stop You in Your Tracks?

When Did You Last Let Something Stop You in Your Tracks?

The science and practice of awe in everyday nature

There is a moment — you have had it, even if you haven't named it — when the world briefly interrupts you.

Maybe it was the way the light came through the trees on a morning walk. A bird landing closer than expected. The first genuinely warm day of spring after a long winter. A sky so full of stars that you stopped mid-sentence and forgot what you were saying.

For a few seconds, whatever was running through your mind — the list, the worry, the to-do — went quiet. You were just there. Present. A little undone by something beautiful.

That is awe. And it turns out, it is one of the most powerful things that can happen to a human being.

What Awe Actually Does to You

Researchers have been studying awe for the past two decades, and what they are finding is remarkable. Awe is not just a pleasant feeling — it is a biological event with measurable effects on the body and mind.

It shrinks your sense of self — in the best possible way.

Psychologists call it the "small self" effect. When we experience awe, our sense of our own problems and concerns temporarily diminishes. Not because the problems disappear, but because we are reminded — viscerally, not intellectually — that we are part of something much larger. Studies show that people who experience awe regularly report feeling less stressed, less self-focused, and more connected to others.

It reduces inflammation.

A 2015 study from UC Berkeley found that people who reported more frequent experiences of awe had lower levels of cytokines — proteins associated with inflammation and stress-related illness. Nature, it turns out, is not just good for the soul. It is good for the body.

It expands your sense of time.

One of the most surprising findings in awe research is that experiencing awe makes people feel like they have more time. Not because time actually slows down, but because awe pulls us out of the rushed, task-oriented mode we spend most of our lives in. People who had just experienced awe reported feeling less impatient and more willing to volunteer their time to help others.

It makes you more curious and creative.

Awe activates the default mode network in the brain — the same network associated with creativity, imagination, and insight. After an awe experience, people consistently show increased openness to new ideas and greater tolerance for uncertainty. If you have ever had a great idea on a walk, this is part of why.

It deepens connection.

Perhaps most relevant to what we are building together at Parallel Journeys: awe is profoundly social. Shared awe — experiencing something beautiful or vast alongside another person — accelerates bonding and trust in ways that ordinary conversation cannot. It is one of the fastest paths to feeling genuinely connected to another human being.

Everyday Awe: What Nature Has to Offer Right Now

The research on awe was initially conducted using dramatic stimuli — the Grand Canyon, thunderstorms, vast ocean views. But more recent work has found something encouraging: small, everyday encounters with nature can produce the same effects, provided we slow down enough to actually notice them.

This is good news. Because most of us do not live next to the Grand Canyon. We live next to parks, backyards, neighborhood streets with trees, and windows that look out onto something green.

Here is what April is offering right now, if you are paying attention:

•      Leaves unfurling from bare branches — one of the most quietly astonishing things in the natural world

•      The smell of rain on dry earth (petrichor — one of the most universally loved scents among humans)

•      Birds singing before sunrise, establishing territory, finding mates, doing their thing regardless of what else is happening in the world

•      The particular quality of spring light — longer days, lower angle, everything golden in the late afternoon

•      Flowers coming up through places they shouldn't logically be able to grow

•      The sound of moving water after snowmelt, creeks running fast and full

 

None of these require a trip. None of them cost anything. All of them are available to you, right now, within probably ten minutes of wherever you are sitting.

Five Ways to Practice Awe This Week

Awe is not entirely passive — it can be cultivated. The following prompts are invitations, not assignments. Choose one that feels right, or invent your own.

01

Take a 20-minute awe walk. Leave your phone in your pocket. Walk slowly. Look for things that are surprising, beautiful, or hard to explain. Researchers have found that walking with the explicit intention of finding something awe-inspiring produces significantly more positive emotion than a regular walk — even along the exact same route.

 

02

Stand next to moving water. A creek, a fountain, a river, a waterfall — any moving water will do. Stand there for five minutes. Just listen. The sound of moving water has been shown to reduce cortisol levels and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. You do not have to do anything. Just be there.

 

03

Notice something you have never noticed before. Pick a route you walk regularly — to the car, around the block, through a park. Walk it today with the sole goal of noticing one thing you have never paid attention to before. A particular tree. A pattern in the pavement. A bird you cannot identify. The challenge is not to find something new — it is to look at something familiar differently.

 

04	Capture one beautiful thing. Sketch it, photograph it, describe it in a few words, or just stop and really look at it for thirty seconds. The act of capturing — in any form — deepens the experience. It tells your brain that this moment is worth remembering. It often is.

 

05	Share it. Tell someone what you noticed today. Not to impress them — just to say it out loud. "I saw the most extraordinary thing this morning." Sharing awe multiplies it. This is, in part, what Parallel Journeys is for.

Journaling Questions: Reflecting on Awe

Find a few quiet minutes — outside if possible — and sit with one or more of these questions. There are no right answers. Write whatever comes.

On past experiences of awe:

•      When was the last time something in nature stopped you in your tracks? What was it? What did it feel like in your body?

•      What is the most awe-inspiring natural thing you have ever witnessed? What made it so?

•      As a child, what in nature used to fill you with wonder? Do you still notice those things?

On attention and noticing:

•      What do you walk past every day without really seeing? What would happen if you stopped and looked?

•      When you are in nature, what do you tend to notice first? What do you tend to overlook?

•      Is there a time of day when you feel most connected to the natural world? What makes that time different?

On connection:

•      Has a shared experience in nature ever brought you closer to someone? What happened?

•      Who in your life would you most want to share an awe-inspiring moment with? When did you last do that?

•      What would change about your daily life if you built in ten minutes of intentional time outside every day?

A Closing Thought

April is not asking much of you.

It is not asking you to climb anything, achieve anything, or transform anything. It is just asking you to look up occasionally. To notice what is already there. To let something small and beautiful interrupt you for a moment.

The research says this is one of the most powerful things you can do for your mental health, your creativity, your relationships, and your sense of being alive in the world.

We think that is worth paying attention to.

Go find your thing this week. Then come back and tell us what it was.

 

With wonder,

Kelly & Mariah

PARALLEL JOURNEYS  ·  www.ourparalleljourneys.com