The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

REALLY LIVING

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Psssssssssssssssssssst of the NEW YEAR:

If you could write a letter to yourself 
n o w
for 10 or 12 years ago. . .
what would
I T
S A Y ?

If you could write a letter to yourself
N O W
for 10 or 12 years ago. . .
how would you
NOW LIVE YOUR LIFE . . ?

And your excuse for not doing so. . .

n o w. . . ?

Kinda makes New Years resolutions laughable, huh??  

What are you waiting for???

H E Y :
If you could write a letter to yourself 
n o w
for 10 or 12 years ago. . .
what would
I T
S A Y ?

and,
and would it make a difference. . . ?


In the End, TWO WORDS:

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I didn’t hear she had been sick

and hearing the news of her death

. . .it made me sick. . .

Her web site

unpoetically

put out the following announcement:

Mary Oliver, beloved poet and bard of the natural world, died on January 17 at home in Hobe Sound, Florida. She was 83.

Oliver published her first book, No Voyage, in London in 1963, at the age of twenty-eight. The author of more than 20 collections, she was cherished by readers, and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for American Primitive, and the 1992 National Book Award for New and Selected Poems, Volume One. She led workshops and held residencies at various colleges and universities, including Bennington College, where she held the Catharine Osgood Foster Chair for Distinguished Teaching until 2001. It was her work as an educator that encouraged her to write the guide to verse, A Poetry Handbook (1994), and she went on to publish many works of prose, including the New York Times bestselling essay collection, Upstream (2016). For her final work, Oliver created a personal lifetime collection, selecting poems from throughout her more than fifty-year career. Devotions was published by Penguin Press in 2017.

Her poetry developed in close communion with the landscapes she knew best, the rivers and creeks of her native Ohio, and, after 1964, the ponds, beech forests, and coastline of her chosen hometown, Provincetown. She spent her final years in Florida, a relocation that brought with it the appearance of mangroves. “I could not be a poet without the natural world,” she wrote. “Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple.” In the words of the late Lucille Clifton, “She uses the natural world to illuminate the whole world.”
In her attention to the smallest of creatures, and the most fleeting of moments, Oliver’s work reveals the human experience at its most expansive and eternal. She lived poetry as a faith and her singular, clear-eyed understanding of verse’s vitality of purpose began in childhood, and continued all her life. “For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”

When Death Comes

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

A Mary Oliver book
is by my bed,
in my study,
in the trunk of my car,
a back pack
an unpacked bag from my last vacation. . .

she’s always been a
go-to
for quick bits of inspiration
and now that words
will no longer flow from her pen
they will continue to float to one lucky person
to another blessed one
who treats themselves to peruse. . .
Maybe the greatest
poetic justice
of all
is not feeling the need to say
GOOD-BYE
so much as
sincerely
everlastingly
whisper
not-so-softly
THANK
YOU
u n l i m i t e d l y

TWO WORDS. . .

j u s t t w o :

T H A N K Y O U

OH, To Be BORED

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Being Bored Can Be Good for You—If You Do It Right. . .

I always think it would be great to be bored. . .

until I have a moment to

D O
N O T H I N G

and then

B A M
Z I P
P R E S T O

I F E E L G U I L T Y

even book in the hand
head on the chest
10 minute-power-napping it

B U T

If you’re waiting for brilliance to strike, try getting bored first. That’s the takeaway of a study published recently in the journal Academy of Management Discoveries, which found that boredom can spark individual productivity and creativity.

Those findings are likely no surprise to Sandi Mann, a senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire in the U.K. Mann is the author of The Upside of Downtime: Why Boredom Is Good, and a proponent of embracing the emotion, negative connotations and all.

Here’s why being bored can be a good thing for your mind, imagination and productivity, and how to do it right

Boredom sparks creativity

At its core, boredom is “a search for neural stimulation that isn’t satisfied,” Mann says. “If we can’t find that, our mind will create it.” As demonstrated by the new study and plenty others before it, boredom can enable creativity and problem-solving by allowing the mind to wander and daydream. “There’s no other way of getting that stimulation, so you have to go into your head,” Mann says. You may be surprised by what you come up with when you do

Boredom is good for your mental health

Daydreaming can be “quite a respite” and provide a brief escape from day-to-day life, Mann says. But it’s also beneficial to simply step away from screens, work and other stressors long enough to feel bored. Studies have shown, for example, that modern tools including work emails, social media and dating apps can strain mental health — so taking a break can be a valuable opportunity to recharge.

How to be bored the right way

Mann says it’s important not to conflate boredom with relaxation. A purposefully tranquil activity, such as yoga or meditation, likely doesn’t meet the definition of trying and failing to find stimulation.

It’s also crucial to unplug during this time, Mann says. Our cultural attachment to our phones, she says, is paradoxically both destroying our ability to be bored, and preventing us from ever being truly entertained.

“We’re trying to swipe and scroll the boredom away, but in doing that, we’re actually making ourselves more prone to boredom, because every time we get our phone out we’re not allowing our mind to wander and to solve our own boredom problems,” Mann says, adding that people can become addicted to the constant dopamine hit of new and novel content that phones provide. “Our tolerance for boredom just changes completely, and we need more and more to stop being bored.”

Next time you find yourself in line at the grocery store, in a tedious meeting or killing time in a waiting room, resist the urge to scroll. You’re bound to get bored — and your brain, mood and work performance just might improve. . .

Ohhhhhhhh to be bored

until you have

just a single-solitary-moment
to be even slightly disinterested

and then we do everything we can

even if
especially if
it’s because of our own
self-imposed-guilt

DO IT

FIGHT THE URGE

GET YOUR BOREDOM ON
(just a little)

JUST L O V E

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Beautiful little clip, huh?

This little video  is a Erste Christmas Ad that came out the beginning of the month.       .       .

Who would think that a little story 
about a Hedgehog
could ever be a 
S     T     O     R     Y
about the power of 
l  o  v  e
of believing in yourself
and.        .        .
and the simple
good of others.          .          .

Maybe it’s just a little hint
a quick glance
that no matter how
i n s u r m o u n t a b l e
an obstacle 
may seem;
LOVE
WON’T
FIND
ITS 
WAY
( it is the WAY)

What’s the deal?
Love
isn’t a day
a season
an event.     .     .

It’s a Lifestyle

s     o

L           O         V         E

Just 

L          O          V          E

(and then love a little more)


You Bet. . .I’M POSITIVE

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Forgot about being
O P T I M I S T I C.         .         .
A  R  E       Y  O  U       P  O  S  I  T  I  V  E.          .          .         ?
A     Real    Caring    Catalyst?
A recent article in TIME MAGAZINE by Carly Briet brought out some of the things about just merely being
P           O           S           I           T           I           V           E

Keeping a positive outlook doesn’t always come naturally. But optimism is like a muscle — you just have to train it, says Tchiki Davis, a psychologist and founder of The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.

And learning to see the glass half full has its perks: It can improve the quality of your life and may even increase lifespan, she says. When Harvard researchers studied 70,000 women over an eight-year period, the most optimistic quartile had an almost 30% lower risk of dying from several major causes of death compared with women in the least optimistic quartile.

If you’re looking to reap the benefits of a happier, healthier and more positive life, here’s what experts recommend you do.

Reframe    or    Divert

The first step in approaching a negative situation with an optimistic outlook is to accept what you can’t change, says Karen Reivich, a psychologist and author of The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys To Finding Your Inner Strength And Overcoming Life’s Hurdles

Once you’ve done that, you have two options: reframe or divert, says Dana Lightman, a psychotherapist and author of POWER Optimism: Enjoy the Life You Have…Create the Success You Want. Both will help you to instantly feel more positive, as they draw your attention (and thus, your emotions) away from the negative.

Reframing the situation involves looking for opportunity instead of ruminating on the loss. “When you’re going through something problematic, ask yourself, ‘What potential things could I gain from this?’” Lightman recommends. For example, people going through difficult breakups may find that they’ll gain the time to understand themselves. A rejection from graduate school may lead to a beneficial year of work experience in order to better prepare for higher education down the line, says Lightman.

Priming yourself to notice opportunities in the future instantly lifts you from a downward spiral of negative thoughts, Lightman explains.

Sometimes, raw, overly emotional negatives can’t be reframed immediately, she says, and in those cases, it’s best to divert your attention elsewhere. “Shift your focus to something else,” Lightman says. That could be something as simple as watching a funny video, calling a friend or taking a walk.

Savor   the   Good

We’re really good at dwelling on the not-so-great, Davis says. But when we experience something positive — like a compliment from a friend or a beautiful day outside — we tend to let it pass without even noticing. Savoring or holding onto those pleasant moments and thinking, Wow, this is really great can actually strengthen positive emotions, she explains.

Be as descriptive as you can about the good things you notice, Davis recommends, even if you’re talking to yourself. The more you build your vocabulary of positive words, the more easily your brain will be able to access them, which will help boost your overall mood and outlook, she says.

Lightman suggests taking it a step further by writing down your positive experiences. Keep these notes in a jar, box or container. When you start to feel down, you’ll have a flow of positive thoughts and memories to read, she says.

Set   Reminders

You wouldn’t expect yourself to remember important tasks without writing them down on your to-do list, would you? Well, the same is true about positivity, says Davis. Write yourself a message on a sticky note and attach it to your computer screen at work, Lightman says. You might write down an inspirational quote you like, a reminder to smile or something you have to be thankful for. Small reminders help keep positivity front and center in your life, she says.

Do  Something  Nice  for  Someone  Else

One of the fastest, most effective ways to feel happier is to show someone kindness, according to Davis. “In America, we’re so individualistic, that we think, ‘Oh I have this problem, I should focus on me and fix me,’” says Davis. “But really, the more we focus on other people, the more effective we are in terms of positivity.” In a 2017 study by Oxford University, researchers found that performing acts of kindness for just seven days had a measurable, positive effect on well-being and positive social emotion.

Phone   a   friend

Most optimists have strong, supportive relationships, according to Reivich. “You don’t have to have a lot of them,” she says. “But you have to have people in your life where you feel like they’re there for you and you’re there for them.”

Optimists are also more likely than pessimists to use their support networks. “An optimistic thinker is more likely to say, ‘This is hard. Who do I need to call? What help do I need?’” Reivich explains. Negative thinkers tend to isolate themselves in tough situations, she says, which can breed more negative thoughts.

The comfort of knowing your own strengths and knowing you don’t have to do everything by yourself contributes to long-term happiness, according to Reivich.

Say   Thanks

Thinking about what you’re grateful for can instantly improve your mood, and as you begin to make gratitude a habit, you’ll see lasting benefits, Davis says.

It works because our interpretation of events influences our emotions more than the events themselves, Lightman explains. In negative experiences, gratitude is one of the most effective tools, as it can change the emotions you feel, she says.

Consider writing down three good things that happen to you every day — research has linked this act to increased happiness and fewer symptoms of depression.

Being grateful for the lessons learned in a negative situation, in spite of what led you to the lessons, will help you walk away from negative experiences with something gained. “If you don’t fall, you can’t learn to get back up,” Lightman says.

Are   you   Positive.          .          .          ?

You’re    just    one    kind    act    away

and      then      another

and      then      another

and      then      another.          .          .

to  absolutely

P O S I T I V E L Y 

l      i      v      i      n      g

Y                        E                        S

 

SEEING IT IN ANOTHER WAY

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At best.          .          .

I might have met him only once or twice.            .            .

At best.          .          .

I might’ve had the cordial

‘how are you’

‘it’s nice to meet you’

exchanges.            .            .

At best.          .          .

I was nonchalantly looking through Instagram and saw Jake Nicolella’s random photograph of a seemingly ordinary subway ride in New York City with the follow captioned thoughts:

“This world.  Right now.  There are trees turning orange with the fall, and trees that will remain lush year around.  There are old men biding time in the mall food court reminiscing about what was, and teenagers infinitely scrolling, dreaming about what’s next.  Right now.  Existing in this moment.  There are grandmothers, friends, hopes and lessons to be learned.  There are people you will never know, or even think to know, made up of all the same flesh, time, and wonder that brought you to this moment.  Right now.  There are small, enraged men with weapons of war and fear in their hearts.  Compelled to take lives that  were never worth that fear and never theirs to take.  Again and again and again.  The ripple of their actions will cascade pain for generations  Right now.  Fear disguised as patriotism.  Fear sold as justice.  Fear burnt ass red hot fuel to beget more fear.  But right now.  There is also the last car on the M train at 6:58 pm.  There are two men.  There is a mother.  Her seven-month-old baby.  A group of high school students.  There is a shared moment that lets me know that fear has no chance.  That fear has no place here in this moment.  There are eight lives intersecting from different points of origin, heading toward unknown and likely different terminuses, and everything is going to be okay. Here.  Right now.  Everything has got to be okay.”

Being a Caring Catalyst

 means caring enough about others

that you’re always willing to be a pupil as you become teacher.          .          .

No matter who a professor might be,

or what the lesson might be taught,

If you always care enough to be taught

care enough to learn the lessons in the

o r d i n a r y

see what only an unsuspecting other

can show you.          .          .

then you’ll have found the cure for blindness

.        .        .A T      B E S T

Sometimes the best way

to see anything in another way

is through another’s eyes

and then

ONLY    IF    YOUR’S    ARE

O P E N       E N O U G H

to not only see

but  understand
what  you  are  viewing.       .       .
R  I  G  H  T       N  O  W

Thank you, Jake Nicolella

for showing us all that

t      h      o      s      e

who   hold   the   light

prospered from the one

who   supplied   the 
m           a           t           c           h

The Blog Post That WASN’T

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Psssssssssssssssssssssssssst   of   the   Day:

When your Plan A fails

WORK YOUR PLAN B

like it’s your Plan A +

.          .          .the quicker you adapt;

get OVER

YOUR PLAN A

and embrace your PLAN B

the more successful

and even better

the   a s s u r a n c e

there’ll never be a 

P    L    A    N           C

A D M I S S I O N S

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I have shown this dozens of times in several different settings and it always seems to begin conversations and foster even deeper thoughts and feelings.       .      .

After last week’s series of pipe bomb mails,
Grocery Store
Synagogue Shootings

and a unplanned, profound discussion with friend about

G  E  T  T  I  N  G      I T

I’ve  repeatedly  had  just

One    Question?

What Props are you holding on to that keep you being truly
freely
being
y o u.          .          .

Well.          .          .

?

O Happy DAY (s)

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I s   H A P P I N E S S

a l l   t h a t

H     A     P     P     Y

4 lessons from the longest-running

                    study on happiness

                          gives us a hint.  .  .

Stocksy

Essential, data-derived advice for leading a happy, healthy life, shared by researcher and psychiatrist Robert Waldinger.

Have you ever wished you could fast-forward your life so you could see if the decisions you’re making will lead to satisfaction and health in the future? In the world of scientific research, the closest you can get to that is by looking at the Harvard Study of Adult Development — a study that has tracked the lives of 724 men for 78 years, and one of the longest studies of adult life ever done. Investigators surveyed the group every two years about their physical and mental health, their professional lives, their friendships, their marriages — and also subjected them to periodic in-person interviews, medical exams, blood tests and brain scans.

With a front-row seat on these men’s lives, researchers have been able to track their circumstances and choices and see how the effects ripple through their lives. Psychiatrist Robert J. Waldinger, the study’s director and principal investigator, shared some of the major lessons in a popular TED Talk (What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness). He says, ”We’d been publishing journal articles with our findings for 75 years, but we publish in journals about lifespan developmental research that few people read. The government has invested millions of dollars in the research, so why keep it a secret?”

The big takeaways from that talk: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier, and loneliness kills. But there were, of course, many more lessons to be learned — the study has yielded more than 100 published papers so far, with enough data for “scores more” — and Waldinger shares four of them here. 

1. A happy childhood has very, very long-lasting effects.

Having warm relationships with parents in childhood was a good predictor you’ll have warmer and more secure relationships with those closest to you when you’re an adult. Happy childhoods had the power to extend across decades to predict more secure relationships that people had with their spouses in their 80s, as well as better physical health in adulthood all the way into old age. And it’s not just parental bonds that matter: Having a close relationship with at least one sibling in childhood predicted which people were less likely to become depressed by age 50.

2. But … people with difficult childhoods can make up for them in midlife.

People who grow up in challenging environments — with chaotic families or economic uncertainty, for instance — grew old less happily than those who had more fortunate childhoods. But by the time people reached middle age (defined as ages 50–65), those who engaged in what psychologists call “generativity,” or an interest in establishing and guiding the next generation, were happier and better adjusted than those who didn’t. And generativity is not dependent on being a parent — while people can develop it by raising children, they can also exhibit it at work or other situations where they mentor younger adults.

3. Learning how to cope well with stress has a lifelong payoff.

We’ve all developed ways of managing stress and relieving anxiety, and Waldinger and his team have found that some ways can have greater long-term benefits than others. Among the adaptive coping methods they examined are sublimation (example: you feel unfairly treated by your employer, so you start an organization that helps protect workers’ rights), altruism (you struggle with addiction and help stay sober by being a sponsor for other addicts), and suppression (you’re worried about job cuts at your company but put those worries out of mind until you can do something to plan for the future). Maladaptive coping strategies include denial, acting out, or projection. The Harvard researchers found the subjects who dealt with stress by engaging in adaptive methods had better relationships with other people. And their way of coping had a cascade of beneficial effects: It made them easier for others to be with, which made people want to help them and led to more social support, and that, in turn, predicted healthier aging in their 60s and 70s. Added bonus: people who used adaptive mechanisms in middle age also had brains that stayed sharper longer.

4. Time with others protects us from the bruises of life’s ups and downs.

Waldinger has said “it’s the quality of your relationships that matters” is one significant takeaway from the study. Well, the researchers have found that quantity counts, too. Looking back on their lives, people most often reported their time spent with others as most meaningful, and the part of their lives of which they were the proudest. Spending time with other people made study subjects happier on a day-to-day basis, and in particular, time with a partner or spouse seemed to buffer them against the mood dips that come with aging’s physical pains and illnesses.

Waldinger continues to marvel at the researchers’ findings, even though he freely acknowledges how skewed their research group is — “it’s the most politically incorrect sample you could possibly have; it’s all white men!” (In fact, the group originally included John F. Kennedy.) With “only a handful” of the original subjects left to study, the Harvard team is now moving on to the men’s 1,300 children who’ve agreed to participate (a group that’s 51 percent female). But he’s painfully aware that the proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health could end even their long-running study. “Our kind of research might be one of the first projects to go. Our work is not urgent; it’s not the cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s,” he says. “But we have a way of understanding human life that you can’t get anywhere else and it lays the foundation for important, actionable things.”

So maybe here’s the most important question of all:

A R E     Y O U     H A P P Y ?
or   maybe   it’s   not   the   question   at   all.          .          .
IT’S     YOUR     ANSWER.          .          .

A W E shucks

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W         H         E         N.          .          .

when was the last time you were

A           W          E          D

Maybe the better question.          .          .

WHEN        WILL       BE       THE       NEXT       TIME.          .          .          ?

Well.          .          .

H          E          R          E   ‘     S

Eight   Reasons   Why   Awe   Makes

YOUR  LIFE  BETTER

Research suggests that awe can make you happier, healthier, more humble, and more connected to the people around you.

Starting 15 years ago, scientists have been studying the complex and mysterious emotion called awe—one you might have felt if you’ve stood in front of the Taj Mahal, hiked among towering redwoods, or had your mind blown at a concert, play, or ballet.

Inducing goosebumps and dropped jaws, awe experiences are remarkable in their own right. Moreover, a growing body of research suggests that experiencing awe may lead to a wide range of benefits, from happiness and health to perhaps more unexpected benefits such as generosity, humility, and critical thinking.

In our busy lives, seeking awe may be low on our list of priorities. But we might be underestimating its power. “One simple prescription can have transformative effects: Look for more daily experiences of awe,” writes the Greater Good Science Center’s Dacher Keltner.

The   Science   of   Happiness   at   Work

A three-course professional certificate series that teaches you the what, why, and how of increasing happiness at work. Launches September 2018! CEs for health care professionals & HR managers

The latest research suggests that taking the time to experience awe—whether through engaging with nature, enjoying great art or music, or even bingeing on breathtaking YouTube videos—may be a pathway to improving your life and relationships.

1. Awe may improve your mood and make you more satisfied with your life

Need a mood boost or a stress slayer? Some studies suggest that experiencing awe may help.

And you don’t have to take a trip to the Grand Canyon to get the job done. Just watching awe-inducing slideshows and videos can improve your mood and well-being, according to a few studies. Another study found that people who read a short, awe-evoking story about seeing Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower reported greater life satisfaction in that moment than people who read a story about seeing a plain landscape from up high.

Of course, it’s tough to beat real-world experiences—so in a recent study, researchers took military veterans and youth from underserved communities whitewater rafting. They found that the more awe the participants experienced, the more improvement they saw in their well-being and symptoms of stress one week later. According to a different survey the researchers conducted, undergraduate students reported greater life satisfaction and well-being on days when they spent time in nature, which was attributable to the higher level of awe they felt on those days. This suggests that awe just might be a crucial ingredient in nature’s restorative powers.

2. Awe may be good for your health

Experiencing awe over time could potentially have long-term health benefits, at least according to one study. People with a greater general tendency to experience awe—but not any of the other seven positive emotions studied—had lower levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a marker of inflammation (too much inflammation can lead to a host of chronic diseases).

A second part of the study found that participants who reported feeling more “awe, wonder, and amazement that day” had lower levels of IL-6; this was true even after accounting for people’s general tendency to experience awe and be open to new experiences. In other words, all of us—not just people who are prone to experiencing awe frequently—may be able to reap the health benefits of a particularly wondrous day.

However, this study can’t tell us whether awe decreases inflammation or whether people with more inflammation are less likely to experience awe—a question for future research.

3. Awe may help you think more critically

Some studies suggest that awe may be able to sharpen our brains. One study found that when people were induced to feel awe, they were less persuaded by weak arguments than people who did a neutral activity (imagining doing their laundry). In contrast, some other positive emotions—like anticipatory enthusiasm or amusement—made people more susceptible to weak arguments.

Intriguingly, a recent theoretical paper argues that awe may help facilitate scientific learning and reasoning in children. For example, when a child sees an anvil and a feather drop at the same rate in a vacuum, this experience likely violates their intuitive understanding of how gravity works, evoking feelings of awe that lead them to develop a new theory about the relationships between weight, gravity, and motion.

Similarly, a recent study found that people who have a greater disposition to experience awe had a more accurate understanding of the nature of science and were more likely to reject creationism and other scientifically questionable explanations about the world. Importantly, these people didn’t have greater “faith” in science; they just understood better how science works.

4. Awe may decrease materialism

A few studies suggest that experiencing awe may dampen feelings of materialism. The experimentwith the Eiffel Tower story also found that, when given a hypothetical choice between a material good (such as a $50 backpack) or an experiential product (such as a $50 iTunes gift card), people who read the awe-inspiring story chose the experiential product more often than people in the other group did.

In another study, participants who recalled an awe experience placed less value on money than did participants who recalled a happy or neutral experience, and viewing awe-inducing images reduced the effort people were willing to put into getting money (where effort was measured by tolerance for listening to an unpleasant sound).

Why might awe decrease materialism? According to the researchers, the answer may lie in the self-transcendence that awe can inspire. “People in awe start to appreciate their sense of selfhood as less separate and more interrelated to the larger existence,” they write. “The experience of awe elevates people from their mundane concerns, which are bounded by daily experiences such as the desire for money.”

Further evidence for this idea comes from a recent study, suggesting that awe can function as a buffer against negative emotion when you lose material possessions. After time spent marveling at the world around you, misplacing your new sunglasses might not feel so bad.

5. Awe makes you feel smaller and more humble

One of the most profound effects of awe is how it can change our perception of ourselves relative to the larger world. In particular, multiple studies have shown that awe can make us feel small, diminished, or insignificant—what researchers call the “small self” effect.

In one particularly interesting study, researchers asked visitors to Yosemite National Park and Fisherman’s Wharf (a tourist area in San Francisco) about their feelings of awe and other emotions, as well as their sense of self. Tourists at Yosemite reported experiencing significantly more awe, represented their current self with smaller circles (when given a choice of sizes), and drew self-portraits that were nearly 33 percent smaller than tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Besides making people feel physically smaller, awe may also make people more humble. One recent study found that people who are more naturally prone to experiencing awe felt more humility and were rated as more humble by their friends. Experimentally inducing participants to feel awe led them to acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses in a more balanced way and to better recognize how outside forces contributed to their successes.

6. Awe can make you feel like you have more time

Awe may also expand our perception of time. One study found that people induced to feel awe felt less impatient and agreed more strongly with statements suggesting that time is plentiful and expansive than people induced to feel happiness. The researchers speculate that by immersing us in the moment, awe may allow us to savor the here and now.

“Awe-eliciting experiences might offer one effective way of alleviating the feeling of time starvation that plagues so many people in modern life,” the researchers write.

With more time on their hands, people feeling awe reported a greater willingness to offer that time to others—to volunteer their time, but not their money, to help a charity—compared to people feeling happy.

7. Awe can make you more generous and cooperative

In fact, multiple studies have found that experiencing awe may make people more kind and generous. For example, one study found that people with a greater tendency for awe were more generous in laboratory tasks like distributing raffle tickets between themselves and an unknown participant. And people who stood among awe-inspiring eucalyptus trees picked up more pens for an experimenter who had “accidentally” dropped them than people who stared up at a not-so-inspiring large building.

Together, these studies suggest that awe may prompt us to help others and to be more generous, perhaps because of the way it encourages us to focus less on ourselves and expands our perception of available time.

8. Awe can make you feel more connected to other people and humanity

Awe has an amazing capacity to bring people together. Research suggests that awe helps us feel more connected to the people in our lives and to humanity as a whole.

In one study, participants spent time near an awe-inducing Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton or in a regular hallway. When asked to describe themselves, the dinosaur viewers were more likely use universal descriptors (such as “a person” or “an inhabitant of the Earth”) rather than more specific descriptors (such as “tall,” “friendly,” or “a student”) than the other people, suggesting that awe increases our sense that we are part of a greater whole.

Another study found that people experiencing awe reported feeling more one with their community compared with people feeling neutral (an effect that may only hold for people with high self-esteem). Interestingly, another part of this study found evidence that culture may also influence awe’s effects, leading people from individualistic cultures to feel as if their social network has expanded (they feel closer to more people) and people from collectivistic cultures to feel closer to those already in their network.

As a 15-year-old science, awe research is literally in its adolescence. This means that many of the findings discussed in this article are based on very few studies (and thus should be taken with a grain of salt). What researchers don’t know about awe far eclipses what they do know. For example, we don’t know much about how awe affects children throughout development, how awe is related to religious and spiritual experiences, and how awe can be used therapeutically. And researchers are just beginning to explore the neuroscience of awe.

But with increasing interest among psychologists and the public in the topic, the future of this research looks bright—maybe even awesome.          .          .

well.          .          .

one  thing  might  be  as  certain  as  morning  and  more  real  than  night:

before you can share

a            w            e

you’ve got to be

a              w              e              d

A  W  E  D
t  o
A     W     E

(repeat   often)

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man