Pause for a moment. Watch the leaves fall. Notice yourself experiencing Awe?

The leaves are going through all their colors and are starting to brown and let go.

We’re in that part of autumn!

Just now the wind picked up and as I glanced up from my work I was greeted with a sight that took my breath away. The air outside is full of falling leaves. A snowstorm of leaves. It is magical.

The corners of my lips turned up and my shoulders drop.

My heart is filling with wonder. And I remember to pause, to really breathe the moment in and let that joy spread through my whole body.

Michael and I have been working hard this past month.

It’s been exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. My nervous system feels frayed at the edges. I get cranky.

When I noticed what that was costing me, I made a commitment to come back to a practice I call Moments of Beauty and Awe. Every day, on purpose. Then the leaf storm showed up, like a sweet reminder of how much this practice feeds me.

What awe actually does to us

Yesterday, I came across some writing about what AWE actually does to us.

Think about the last time your jaw dropped. Something stunning in front of you, and out comes "Wow!" before you can stop it. When we feel threatened, we tend to clench our jaws. It’s a way of holding on and staying in control. In awe, the jaw lets go by itself. For a moment we stop managing ourselves and become completely open, touched by something much bigger than we are.

Researchers have found that awe shrinks our sense of self, and at least one brain-imaging study found it quiets the default mode network. That network is where we keep replaying our familiar stories: the limiting beliefs, the old explanations for why we’re stuck. When it quiets, those stories loosen their grip.

So I’ve come to think of awe as part of healing. It stretches what we believe is possible. It lets us look at old patterns with fresh eyes.

Sometimes it’s a great blue heron gliding across the lake outside my window. Sometimes it’s a long, solid hug from a friend. When I really let myself feel it, the awe settles into my nervous system.

I calm down. I feel connected to the Universe again, and I remember that I’m part of something immense and amazing.

I remember I’m not alone.

Change is always happening. You get to be the author of the change you want in your life. And you don’t have to do it alone. We’re here to love and support each other through all of life’s joys and struggles.

Michael & Penny