I’m not very good at mindfulness meditation — a fidgeter with a noisy brain. But last fall, I found a piece of research that gave me a new way to infuse mindfulness and meaning into my busy life.
Awe walks.
Let’s back up a moment and talk about awe. It’s a word worth knowing as parents.
Last fall, I plunged into the research on awe and wonder for a Washington Post article. You can read it here.
As I wrote, “Awe is what we feel when we encounter something vast, wondrous or beyond our ordinary frame of reference. It evokes a sense of mystery and wonder. And, given its documented benefits, awe might be our most overlooked, undervalued emotion.”
Dr. Dacher Keltner, the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley, has spent years studying the beneficial effects of awe on our physical, mental and emotional well-being. In our interview, he told me that awe “makes us curious rather than judgmental. It makes us collaborative. It makes us humble, sharing, and altruistic. It quiets the ego so that you’re not thinking about yourself as much.” It also calms the brain’s default mode network and has been shown to reduce inflammation.
Psychologist Craig Anderson found that experiencing awe in nature decreased PTSD and stress levels in combat veterans and high schoolers who had experienced community violence. “The awe that we feel in the outdoors could actually be a useful part of our health-care system,” he told me.
And that’s useable knowledge as we enter mental health awareness month with a generation of children who are experiencing a mental health crisis.
Here’s what else I learned:
You don’t have to take your kids to the Grand Canyon or stand in the Sistine Chapel to experience awe, Keltner says. People commonly feel awe when they spend time in nature, listen to or make music, view or create art, contemplate big ideas, engage in meaningful rituals or enjoy community experiences that make them feel as if they’re a part of something larger than themselves.
Noticing systems and patterns, such as musical harmony or the formation of geese in flight, can also be awe-inspiring. “The mind in awe is picking up these systems of complicated, interrelated entities working together,” Keltner says. “People are like, ‘God, I saw these tide pools. I was blown away.’ They look at clouds, which are these complicated systems of water droplets.
The benefits are so great that it’s worth finding ways to weave awe-moments into your family life. Keltner says. “Go out and find some awe on your walk. Get outside, pause, reflect, slow it down.”
That brings me back to awe walks.
In a 2020 study, older adults who took weekly 15-minute “awe walks” for eight weeks reported increased positive emotions and less distress in their daily lives.
So I decided to try it. I walk my dog a couple of times a day, anyway. But usually, I’m “in my head” as I walk — planning out an article, replaying a conversation in my head, or ticking through my to-do list. I like to walk-and-think. And I’m not giving that up.
But for one of those walks, I’ve been trying to turn my attention OUTWARD. Bird sounds. Cloud patterns. New buds on trees. A swarm of ants on a discarded marshmallow. It’s mindfulness while walking.
Bird songs have become a particular favorite. My 8-year-old and I began to take these walk together a couple of times a week. Using the Merlin Bird ID App from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we’ve been tracking the migration from February till May. Yesterday, we heard pine warblers, chipping sparrows, and veerys for the first time.
I crave this time, now — and the daily reminder that our world is an awe-some place, if we just remember to look outward a little more often.
Listen Up
I got to talk all about awe, play, and helping kids find purpose in the latest Overthrowing Education podcast.
Many thanks to the host, Batsheva Frankl, for having me on as a guest.
Cheers,
Deborah Farmer Kris
P.S. You can preorder my picture book about awe and wonder here. “You Wonder All the Time” celebrates kids’ awe-some curiosity and questions. Due out July 26.
And if you are looking for that perfect book for a baby shower or toddler birthday party, may I suggest checking here?