Take an Awe Walk

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.     Albert Einstein

Awe is a state of wonder in which we feel a part of something larger than ourselves.  It can happen during mundane moments like a sunrise or sunset or during life-altering events like the birth of a child.  Every time we give ourselves the space to experience it, we step out of our small selves into something larger.  

An awe walk is when you intentionally shift your focus outside yourself as you stroll, looking for something that attracts your attention.  A-W-E is an easy-to-remember acronym.  “A” stands for awareness, bringing your attention to something specific outside yourself.  “W” is for waiting, looking intently for a few seconds in order to absorb it.  “E” stands for expand; let the object of your awareness fill you up.  The whole process can take as little as 15 seconds, but it has a lasting impact.

Psychologists researched the effects of awe walks during a study in 2020. They found that participants who were oriented towards finding a sense of awe during their walks experienced less stress and better mental health.  They also got better at feeling a sense of awe as they practiced it.

After reading about this study, I realized that pilgrimage is an “awe bootcamp” of sorts.  Every moment on the road, I experienced awe of varying intensity.  A pilgrimage plunks us down in a novel environment which requires us to pay much more attention than in daily life.  The simple act of paying attention opens us up to awe.  We’re taken outside of ourselves, beyond our small selves and into something larger.  

As I walked I had to keep telling myself, “If you don’t stop taking pictures, you’re never going to get there.” At the top of every hill, around every corner, something new arrested my attention, stopping me in my tracks, filling me with a sense of awe.  The small self, the ego, needs to feel its place in the big world.  Its relative insignificance in the scope of eternity. It’s an enormous relief, actually, to realize our almost child-like inconsequence.

You can turn your next walk into a pilgrimage by going with the intention of finding that sacred place or thing that stops you in your tracks.  You’ll know it when you see it.  Then let awe overtake you and expand within you. A quick photo helps cement it in your mind. You’ll carry that encounter within you as you return home, changed.  A little more humble, a little less preoccupied with small self and its concerns.  A little more connected to all that is.