Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote a book called, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Through his research, Keltner concludes that experiencing awe is good for our well-being and suggests that we could experience awe through what he calls the “eight wonders of life,” which include moral beauty, collective effervescence, nature, music, visual design, spirituality and religion, life and death, and epiphany.
Keltner defines awe as “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.”
In Psalm 19, King David exclaims that, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
We recognize that we are in the presence of something vast and unfathomable when we experience awe through God’s creation. In fact, the Apostle Paul writes, “For [God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20).
When I was in New York last week, I experienced a sense of vastness of God’s glory as I walked through the city and took in the beautiful landscape and iconic architecture, learned the history of the city, experienced a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, and watched a play on Broadway.
Sometimes, through the arts and the nature around us, we can experience how small we are in the context of a great God who created this universe—including all of us!
I encourage you to take some time to go for a walk and appreciate God’s creation, listen to a song of praise, participate in a worship service, and experience being in awe of the Creator God.
