A Sense of Awe

Boy, we've had a hard 45 days.  Usually our life runs smoothly thanks to our ability to successfully collaborate on any project we undertake.  Smoothness is easy to take for granted.  One does not normally awaken thinking, well, my life is going to hell in a hand basket today. Unfortunately, in our extended family, life has been in the proverbial hand basket lately, and collectively we are all still reeling over an untimely death and the massive grief it has left behind.  Our freaking car wreck didn't help much either.

When life serves up the unpalatable, my optimistic nature tries to find ways to put myself looking up rather than down.  Laying in bed contemplating the ceiling this morning, I started focusing on what inspires awe.  (Yes, really.)  What started the chain of thought was the seven week old baby I visited while in Austin.  Gosh, tiny fingers, tiny toes, angelically asleep. The conversation all revolved around how amazing it is to actually make a new human, and then be responsible for creating a person.  The alternative bookend to the end of life.

Obviously, natural creations found on this blue marble definitely create a sense of awe.  We've been so fortunate to directly contemplate some of God's best work.

I could put up 2,000 pictures equally as beautiful as this one.  I chose this ocean scene since the immensity of the oceans define our planet.  Awesome - gigantic and wonderful all rolled into one.

Sometimes a person gives those around her a sense of awe.  My nominee for a person of whom I'm in awe is someone who steps up and into difficult situations with grace.  Oh, you know that person; always knowing what to say as well as how to be silent.  She sees what needs doing and just does it.  You know you've seen one of these folks when someone says, "Wow, I can't believe you did that."  She always seem surprised as if what else did you expect?

Art inspires both awe and envy in me.  My bedroom ceiling got a big work-out on this.  I was totally at sea trying to figure out what single piece makes me awe struck.  Finally, I had to call a mental time-out and whittle down.  I set some parameters:  (1)  I had to have personally seen it.  (2)  I arbitrarily restricted my choice to painting.  Hmmm.  Landscape?  Watercolor?  Still life?  Portrait?  What time period?  I got up and played around with my thousands of pictures of pictures, and you know what?  I couldn't pick. So let's leave this one with the not very original observation:  Great art creates awe just by being viewed.  It's that talent thing.

The best thing about the feeling of awe?  It makes me feel better.  It helps put my small ups and downs into perspective.  My spirits lift.  While I was looking at the photographs I've taken of magnificent paintings, I looked up and saw our own art collection.  Every piece brings back a significant memory.  I could recreate our life from just looking at our art.                                                                    

                                                                    Awesome