Pink tinged cirrus cloud and a hazy sky this campervan morning, the light has a tint of orange to it too. The very tops of the surrounding trees being kissed by sunlight glow in the morning chill. Steam from coffee and breath on air continues the trend towards chillier mornings. The dampness of dew clings to everything around me. Metal cold and wet to touch, leaves glisten silvery in the morning light, droplets hang from spiders webs. A single magpie its machine gun like call leaps from the ash and disappears into the air. The lighter sound of smaller birds barely noticeable above the drone of early morning traffic. A distant cockerel calls the start of the day, through the rumble of traffic indicates the day is well underway for many. The coffee is cooling much quicker than anticipated again. Although there is a sense that autumn is on its way, there is a resoluteness in the trees and greenery around me, the palette remains lush and coloured with no discernible shift to the browns and ochres to come. Perhaps I am being too premature. Plans beginning to formulate for travel and experiences over the next few months preoccupy me this morning. A feeling of the need to move, walk, hike and be in landscapes and to experience awe and tranquility grows again. Einstein wrote that :
“ He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, his eyes are closed “.
Aurelius writes in his meditations :
“ Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
As much as I relish these mornings, nature and the chance to sit, there is a calling returning to me again. The psychologist Dacher Keltner writes that awe is critical to our well being, challenges previously held ideas and leads to a myriad of positive emotional changes. It also quietens the inner critic. There is awe in everyday events that unfold around us. The awe of science, people, role models, art and creativity.
Whilst in conversation with a friend yesterday I have realised that I haven’t picked up my camera in over a month, although my phone remains an instant if not quite as sturdy a replacement. So a few disconnects going on and the need to reposition myself and where I am at. Perhaps to see abit more awe in the everyday, in fact I know I do, whilst plans solidify and take shape. Lovely days people.
“ What is the best way of countering the sluggish habitutation brought about by our gradual crawl from babyhood? We can't actually fly to another planet. But we can recapture that sense of having just tumbled out to life on a new world by looking at our own world in unfamiliar ways. “
Richard Dawkins.
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