.png)
Dear One,
The land of AWE is a place with which I’m very familiar. I spend a great deal of time there. What about you? How often do you find yourself in the land of AWE?
Now, to be clear. This metaphor breaks down rather quickly since AWE is not a separate place outside of you that you go visit. Awe springs up from within you. It’s like we’re each this well of AWE. As long as we’ve created a spaciousness in our lives, it springs forth. So… how often does awe spring forth from inside you?
If you’re not noticing your AWE, I’m curious whether it’s because you’re not paying a whole lot of attention to it. Or, perhaps there isn’t enough space in your life and you simply miss the feeling of experiencing AWE when it shows up.
Ah, whatever it is–I wish for you to be in the land of AWE often each day. I believe it’s possible for you, for me.
The Land of AWE
Dorothy and her friends spent a lot of time there, right? In the magical land of AWE. Oh, wait. Technically they called it The Land of “Oz,” and not The Land of AWE. Oz surrounded them with its magic and bewitchery. Dorothy and friends would dip in and out of their wells of awe. Each time they met magical people and creatures and witches (the ones that weren’t scary) they’d ooh and aaaaahhh in awe.
Of course, in their Land of Awe (Oz) there were also lions and tigers and bears and scary things. Witches that kind of turn sour, a bit like humans sometimes do. I mean, who knows what happened to the wicked witch of the west to make her so vile? It does make me curious, but that’s a different post for a different day….
Anyway, there is a magical land of AWE within us all. You and I don’t have to be Dorothy to go there.
Continuing the metaphor, what are your top three words/phrases? The things you’d repeat as you clicked your ruby red slipper heels together. Those things that inspire your awe, transporting you magically to The Land of AWE (that well of AWE inside yourself).
Currently, here are my three “clicks of the heel:”
God
Nature
Children
In Awe of Children
Recently it’s my awe and reverence for children that’s been a click away, simply because of a new and temporary part time job that landed in my lap. It came at a time when I wanted a part-time job and there it was. Would I be willing to drive a 1st and 5th grader to and from home/school/practices each morning and afternoon? Well, yes. Indeed I would.
Monday through Friday–twice per day–these two children take me straight to the Land of Awe. From day one the three of us started chatting and singing together as though we were long-time friends.
Here’s a Day Two experience that took me to The Land of Awe before I could even find my ruby red slippers. My new 5th grade friend was the only one in the car that morning and we’d pulled up to school in the Kiss-and-ride lane. Before she jumped out I found myself asking her what word or phrase she might want me to say each morning, a phrase she’d find inspiring (empowering) to kick off her day.
She quickly responded with a yes and then came her empowerment phrase: “Go get ‘em Tiger!” With awe and reverence, I asked whether she had a phrase she’d say back to me in response. Oh yes. Without hesitation she replied, “You say, ‘Go get ‘em Tiger,’ and I’ll say, ‘Right back at ya Lion!”
I practiced saying “Go get ‘em Tiger” a few times as she asked me to say it with even more confidence. I told her I realized she wanted me to say it with more power. “YES!” That’s exactly what she meant by more confidence.
Children… My own five, who are now badass grown adults. Those I used to teach back in the day during my elementary school teacher days. Now a 5th and first grader coming into my life, bringing me straight to The Land of Awe five days a week. Absolute stunning awe with an element of reverence thrown in for good measure.
#selfawareness #creativity #magicand #imagination #empowermentcoach #lifecoach #coactivecoach #listening #selfacceptance #nonjudgmentalism #noshame #empoweringwomenempowerwomen
