Last May I wrote about “awe walks.” According to an article in the NY Times, “Consciously watching for small wonders in the world around you during an otherwise ordinary walk could amplify the mental health benefits of the stroll, according to an interesting new psychological study of what the study’s authors call ‘awe walks.’” In the study, 52 healthy senior citizens each took a 15-minute walk outdoors once a week. Half of the group were given no special instructions. The other half were instructed in how to cultivate awe as they walked.
“Both groups were asked to take a few selfies during their walks, in order to document locales, but otherwise to avoid using their phones while walking. The walkers in both groups uploaded their selfies to a lab website and also completed a daily online assessment of their current mood and, if they had walked that day, how they had felt during their strolls.
“Not surprisingly, [the researchers] found that the awe walkers seemed to have become adept at discovering and amplifying awe. One volunteer reported focusing now on ‘the beautiful fall colors and the absence of them among the evergreen forest.’ A control walker, in contrast, said she spent much of a recent walk fretting about an upcoming vacation and ‘all the things I had to do before we leave.'”
An idea popped into my head today that you could do an “awe walk” without leaving your home, just by looking more closely at things in your house. I was also helped by another article in this week’s NY Times, “How to Feel Alive Again.”
From this second article:
“Entering a state of wonder is akin to using a muscle, Ms. May said. Put yourself in that mind-set more often and it gradually becomes easier.
“First, you must ‘give in to the fascination’ that you feel in everyday moments. For example, Ms. May gets ‘really excited’ when she sees light dance across the surface of her coffee.”
So here goes!
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This first image is what got me started. I’m captivated by how the colors match. I stare at these objects every time I brush my teeth. (I use the toothbrush you see here only to clean my mouth guard.) The cup with the sumo wrestlers was a gift from the Rotary Club that I belonged to when I lived in Japan.
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At the other end of the bathroom counter we have a lot of white verticals.
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In the bedroom we have the contrast of all the horizontal lines (the blinds, the window sill, the bookcase) vs. the plants, which spread out every which way.
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The inside of Tako’s ears seem to match the carpet (especially the carpet in the lower right corner, where the light is), as do the parts of her fur which are brown. (Officially, she’s a black calico cat.)
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Lot of blues and greens on our refrigerator door. Yes, that is a real blue lobster, up in Maine. Blue lobsters are rare and must be returned to the water, not eaten.
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Black and blue wheelchairs parked in front of a black drop-leaf table. The wheelchairs are mostly black, like a hearse – but so far we haven’t had to use them. They signify portent, nonetheless.
Love this idea!