Awe
Kayaking on the Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend, 2024
One of our Dissociative Writers recently posted photos of Scotland and shared a piece of writing that expressed her awe in the beauty of that ancient land. I was moved by her expression of wonder when coming face-to-face with the vast expanse that surrounded her. We are so incredibly important in the sphere of our existence and yet so incredibly insignificant as we confront our place in the universe.
My husband and I have been traveling throughout Arizona and Utah to see the amazing geological wonders embodied in the national monuments and wilderness areas: the Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, Grand Canyon North Rim, Zion National Park, Glen Canyon Dam, and now Marble Canyon. Tonight we are preparing to kayak the Colorado River from Horseshoe Bend to Lee’s Ferry, about a 15 mile / 5 hour trip. If I succeed in publishing this blog post tonight, you may be reading this as we are paddling down the river!
Would you believe that 250 million years ago, this desert was a lush rainforest, and our continent was part of a larger world mass called Pangea that gradually, over millions of years, separated into the continents we know today?
Awe is the only word I can use to describe the feelings I’ve experienced in the past week. Awe, that lifts me above and beyond my pain, even if only for a short time. Awe, that doesn’t minimize my hardships, but helps to put them into perspective. Awe, that reminds me that I am a part of the evolution of rupture and healing, movement and stillness, fragmentation and wholeness.
Each of us, I’m sure, has to discover what invites us to suspend our suffering and embody our awe. Perhaps, like me, you find it in nature. Or maybe in music. What about art? The night sky? The ocean? The cry of a baby? The embrace of a loved one?
One thing I know for sure is that awe is both in here and out there, inside of me and far beyond me. I suspect that’s true for you, too, that awe is the vehicle that carries you into the depths of your being and out again, to embrace all that is above and beyond. Sadly, awe-inspiring opportunities are not always readily available. Lately, my heart has been parched from life in the desert southwest. Traveling into the land of awe is just what I needed.
I wish that you, like me, might stumble upon that which lifts you up, out, and beyond, as well as inward, deep, and profound. As you travel this interior and exterior journey, maybe you will discover your own worth and know that, like the ancient geological formations, you are awesome!
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The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
~ W.B. Yeats
Lyn