Awe shifts attention away from the self and opens perspective.

Awe supports meaning without needing certainty or belief.

Small moments of attention can counter burnout and numbness.

As children, awe came naturally. We would carefully watch an ant walking across the street, look at the clouds, and ask thousands of silly questions. As time progressed, a lot of us learned to bypass those moments and instead fo­cus on efficiency, knowledge, and busyness. In our fast-paced lives, most of us seem to have lost that quiet sense that life is an endless source of mystery and beauty. We should take the time to appreciate both.

Awe is not childish or naive. It is not about pretending everything is magical or good. Awe is simply the ability to be moved by what we do not fully understand, and right now, we need it more than ever. Awe helps us see beyond ourselves. Several times per day, we tend to have a very narrow point of view—our thoughts are focused on deadlines, fears, and an incredibly long list we need to work through to fix. The concept of awe is a tool for interrupting our regular, everyday routines and allows us to step back and look at the bigger picture; we are a part of this huge picture, not just one small area of it.

Psychologists studying wonder and awe have found that when one experiences awe, the normal mindset has loosened—be it through nature, thoughts, artwork, or another person demonstrating goodness. This results in decreased defensiveness and self-absorption. Numerous studies have demonstrated that experiencing awe increases one's sense of connectedness to others; at the same time, an individual's receptivity to other viewpoints increases (Keltner and Haidt, 2003). The significance of this cannot be overstated in a culture that fosters speed and certainty. Hence, astonishment allows us to stop, be humble, and know that there is no need to overpower or explain everything right away. Simply acknowledging and feeling differently as a result of what we see can be sufficient.

Awe Brings Meaning Without Demanding Answers

Many people today are hungry for meaning but wary of grand explanations. Awe offers a middle ground. It does not hand us answers. It gives us a sense that meaning is present even when clarity is not. Aristotle believed that wonder and knowledge from our personal experience and reflection were essential. To Aristotle, the act of awe and exploring why things happen in the world is at the root of all thinking and the desire to learn and grow (Aristotle, 1933). Modern research supports this ancient way of thinking. Studies have demonstrated that individuals who have greater opportunities to experience awe and wonder and express their awe tend to have a greater sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. They are more likely to act kindly and think beyond their immediate self-interest (Piff and colleagues, 2015). Wonder shrinks the ego just enough to make room for empathy.

While it is not exclusively religious or an epiphany, the experience of awe can come from discovering information that alters your perception of the world around you, watching someone demonstrate tremendous strength of character without the need for validation, or even realizing how fragile and improbable your personal existence is. Thus, it is an emotional reaction rather than a logical or defined explanation. Awe protects individuals from suffering from burnout, but it is more than just feeling tired. It is an emotional state in which everything around the individual loses its vibrancy. Individuals experience everything as heavy or dull. The act of experiencing wonder helps to add vibrancy back into life.

When we engage in an experience that generates awe, our personal clocks appear to have slowed down. As our personal worries recede into the background, it does not mean that we are escaping; it means we are restoring ourselves as individuals. Research shows that experiencing awe positively impacts mental health. It decreases repetitive thought patterns and egocentric thought processes. Thus, it provides mental reprieve from the continuous sounds that echo inside our heads (Shiota and colleagues, 2007). The smallest forms of awe are a catalyst for change. For example, experiencing nightfall while standing under a clear sky; listening to a musical composition that communicates a meaning you would not have been able to articulate; reading a sentence that changes how you view yourself. These moments do not fix everything, but they remind us that life contains more than our current stress.

The problem is not that awe is rare. The problem is that we are distracted. When every spare moment is filled, when silence feels uncomfortable, when everything must be explained or shared immediately, awe struggles to survive.

Making Room For Wonder Again

Awe cannot be forced, but it can be invited. It begins with attention. By letting some moments remain unresolved while choosing curiosity over judgment. This might mean walking without headphones or reading slowly instead of skimming, and allowing yourself to feel moved without immediately reaching for analysis or commentary. It might mean asking questions you do not expect to answer.

Awe does not erase grief and frustration or eliminate fear. However, awe creates a framework for dealing with negative emotions. It allows us not only to acknowledge that grief, frustration, and fear exist but also to gain a greater perspective on life as a whole. Those negative emotions are part of the bigger picture and do not define our entire lives. Life has become more about control than curiosity. Awe provides us with an avenue for quiet defiance. In doing so, awe reminds us that there are still things out there that could catch us off guard.

Aristotle. (1933). Metaphysics (H. Tredennick, Trans.). Harvard University Press.

Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17(2), 297–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930302297

Piff, P. K., Dietze, P., Feinberg, M., Stancato, D. M., & Keltner, D. (2015). Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(6), 883–899. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000018

Shiota, M. N., Keltner, D., & Mossman, A. (2007). The nature of awe: Elicitors, appraisals, and effects on self-concept. Cognition and Emotion, 21(5), 944–963. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930600923668

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