The Gift of Awe
Child development specialist Deborah Farmer Kris recently found herself inching through Boston traffic on the way to an art exhibit with her daughter. The parking was difficult, the crowds thick, and the journey slow. But then came a moment of wonder: Her daughter’s face lit up while wandering through a gallery filled with floral arrangements inspired by classic works of art. In that moment, the hassle and noise faded. What remained was awe.
As they left the museum, they reflected on what they had seen -- not only the art, but the people. In the middle of a world marked by division and anxiety, these museum-goers had shown up to behold something beautiful. They had made time for awe.
Kris, who recently released her book Raising Awe-Seekers: How the Science of Wonder Helps Our Kids Thrive, has spent years researching this powerful emotion. And what she has found is what people of faith have long known: Awe is a spiritual nutrient. It roots us in the present, softens our egos, and opens us to connection -- with creation, with others, and with God.
Research from the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley confirms that awe promotes emotional well-being, reduces stress and inflammation, and fosters kindness and humility. As psychologist Dacher Keltner says, “Don’t underestimate the power of goosebumps.”
Kris offers three invitations to help us all reconnect with the gift of awe -- no matter our age or season of life:
1. Notice What Lights You Up. Awe often begins with noticing -- really noticing -- what stirs something deep in us. That spark might come from music, the natural world, a powerful story, or a quiet act of kindness. But in our busy lives, we often move too quickly to let awe catch up to us.
The invitation is this: Pay attention to what lifts your spirit. What has caught your breath recently? A bird’s call at dawn? A line from a praise song? A moment of laughter with a friend? These are not interruptions to real life; they are real life -- the kind that feeds the soul.
The practice of noticing begins with what Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Robert Waldinger calls “radical curiosity.” What have you never noticed before? What stirs wonder in you now that might have gone unnoticed last week? The more we pay attention, the more space we leave for awe.
2. Make Space for Everyday Wonder. Awe doesn’t require plane tickets or grand experiences. It lives in the ordinary: a morning walk, an artfully prepared meal, a familiar psalm read slowly and with fresh eyes.
Kris points to a concept known as "collective effervescence" -- the electric sense of connection that arises when we join others in something larger than ourselves. Many experience collective effervescence in worship: singing together, praying together, serving together. Others find it in shared work, shared celebration, or shared grief.
So ask yourself this: Where is awe hiding in plain sight? Could it be in your neighborhood? At the communion table? In a conversation with someone you did not expect to learn from? These moments are gifts, and often the most sacred ones.
3. Share Something Beautiful Every Day. Several years into her research, Kris began a quiet practice: Each day, she looked for something beautiful -- a photo, a quote, a story, a bird’s song -- and sent it to a friend. Over time, this daily sharing became a ritual of connection and wonder.
Eventually, she started sending her “something beautiful” to others as well, and she found that the act of sharing deepened her own experience of awe. It reminded her -- and those she shared with -- that in a world of headlines and hardship, beauty still exists. And it is worth seeking.
Awe is not about escaping the world. It’s about paying attention within it. In Isaiah 55, creation itself sings of God’s glory, and awe is one of the ways we tune our ears to hear that song.