Thank you for your timely tireless efforts, Jason. Beautifully/amazingly written, so poignant, ever-eloquent prose. Grateful are those who understand the outside is inside.
“Awe is a clear lens through which we see the real world as it is: astonishing, strange, dangerous, beautiful, and equally vast and intricate beyond measure.”
Walt Whitman’s ,Song of Myself ( thanks). I have never put a label on myself, but after reading this wonderful masterpiece, I guess I have always been, a seeker of awe. From childhood on up, my need to seek and be in awe, only grows in intensity. I have found it in many wild places, but luckily it does not take a whole lot of effort to find. I try to tell family members the same ( because friends don’t want to be told what to do, but I can get away with it when family is involved) “Go outside”
Love your photographs, Jason! When you were discussing time, I thought of this; In Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins plays “the riddle game” with Gollum in his cave. Bilbo’s very life depended on the correct answers. The first one who cannot answer correctly, loses the game.
Thank you, Lor, for linking my work to the riddle contest between Bilbo and Gollum. That's the kind of fame I'm after... My mother and I both often reference Gollum's word "pocketses" - as in "What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" - from the desperate end of the contest.
As an aside, there's a documentary by the same guy who did Observer (which I wrote about recently) called The Arc of Oblivion. It's all about time and memory and our futile but beautiful urge to preserve our memories. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/movies/the-arc-of-oblivion-review.html]
Glad you're out there finding your awe and motivating others to find theirs.
Thanks for the link, Jason. Looks like it’s worth renting from Amazon Prime. Werner Herzog is incredible, I just watched a summer repeat of 60 minutes you might like;
Beautifully written wisdom more need to feel. I have not experienced it in the exotic destinations you have, but rural living and the mountains of upstate NY and Vermont imparted plenty. To humanity's demise, most no longer have access to these connections. We have been fed the briefest of illusions by fossil fuels that we are above the planet, and deemed the harmonious ways of the Indigenous as savage. Savage is Mark Zuckerberg's announcement of intent to build a data center the size of Manhattan to power AI. Technology and blind dominance are not wisdom. They are arrogance and death of spirit.
to envision a positive future we need more awe, more "visceral tastes" (to use Stuart Candy's words) , it's why I love the arts so much, people don't value to power arts have for this!
You write very well Jason, with passion. I have spent several years maybe decades now on Climate Change issues. I put out articles "From the Holocene to the end of the Anthropocene -6th Mass Extinction' and 'Capitalism and the Environment' taking the stance Greed Capitalism in diametrically opposite to Climate Change. I am ready to release my book 'Harvest of Hope: Urban Agriculture in a Global Climte Crisis". While I very much enjoy your essay, the political system is not structured for long multi-national challenges over time. Even mankind, we are not programmed to look into the future but to respond to issues of today. Thank you for writing this. It should be compulsary reading for all schools when sanity returns. As we say in Canada 'elbows up'.
Thanks very much, Bill. I'll toast to "when sanity returns," absolutely. But like you, I recognize that human nature and the nature of our systems aren't built for the task at hand. Which is why we need a culture that accounts for those weaknesses - guardrails against power, institutionalized equity and empathy, a recognition that economies are subsets of ecologies, a planetary view that's both mystical and scientific, and a long view of history, etc. - to guide us. We are, here in the U.S., going very quickly in the wrong direction on all accounts, and right when we can afford it least.
I had many awe moments just reading your essay and had many pauses just to reflect what you wrote - profound! And towards the end I thought of all the things that brought me joy today, a dancing butterfly, a sneaky new leaf on my travelers palm, the song malena. Wow so much beauty in everyday life! This was an exceptionally beautifully crafted essay, I will come back to it again. Thank you for writing this.
I wait for your essay to drop in my inbox every Friday! It makes my day :) Love from India!
Gorgeous. Deep gratitude for provoking fresh thoughts. Among them is the notion that awe can't be pursued like some kind of adventure tourism but arises unbidden in routine life when we are fully paying attention. As a poet friend of mine one said, "Everything will surprise you if you let it."
Spectacular Post, Awe is a gift I experience daily as I wake in this beautiful troubled world. Being on the coast of Maine a huge energy booster. I appreciate your posts and others you highlight.
Beautiful, striking, and deeply felt. Thank you. I’ve been laid up with lower back issues, but will be sure to follow your directive today. Slowly, patiently—capturing the awe of motion, however limited it might be.
Jason - thanks for the thoughtful essay. As I was reading, I recalled that in Michael Pollan’s book about psychedelics, he also touches on awe as a profoundly connecting experience. This was right around when we witnessed the total solar eclipse in a waterfront park in Cleveland with a whole lot of other people. Everyone was so friendly and joyful, it was palpable.
Amen to this: “any one of a million ways we might connect with existential realities outside our self. The magic can be small and quiet, and often is.” Words to live by.
Thanks, Julie. We had a similar experience with a crowd in central Maine. We all slogged in on a snowy closed road to a lakeside state park, like would-be gold miners heading over the Chilkoot Pass... but then all found our quiet spots and watched the marvel of the eclipse unfold.
Thank you for your timely tireless efforts, Jason. Beautifully/amazingly written, so poignant, ever-eloquent prose. Grateful are those who understand the outside is inside.
indeed , outside is awesome - I so loved this , big thanks Jason !
Thank you, Warren. Glad you liked it.
“Awe is a clear lens through which we see the real world as it is: astonishing, strange, dangerous, beautiful, and equally vast and intricate beyond measure.”
Walt Whitman’s ,Song of Myself ( thanks). I have never put a label on myself, but after reading this wonderful masterpiece, I guess I have always been, a seeker of awe. From childhood on up, my need to seek and be in awe, only grows in intensity. I have found it in many wild places, but luckily it does not take a whole lot of effort to find. I try to tell family members the same ( because friends don’t want to be told what to do, but I can get away with it when family is involved) “Go outside”
Love your photographs, Jason! When you were discussing time, I thought of this; In Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins plays “the riddle game” with Gollum in his cave. Bilbo’s very life depended on the correct answers. The first one who cannot answer correctly, loses the game.
Gollum asks;
Riddle 5:
“This thing all things devours;
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats mountain down.”
Bilbo correctly answers; time.
Thank you, Lor, for linking my work to the riddle contest between Bilbo and Gollum. That's the kind of fame I'm after... My mother and I both often reference Gollum's word "pocketses" - as in "What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" - from the desperate end of the contest.
As an aside, there's a documentary by the same guy who did Observer (which I wrote about recently) called The Arc of Oblivion. It's all about time and memory and our futile but beautiful urge to preserve our memories. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/movies/the-arc-of-oblivion-review.html]
Glad you're out there finding your awe and motivating others to find theirs.
Thanks for the link, Jason. Looks like it’s worth renting from Amazon Prime. Werner Herzog is incredible, I just watched a summer repeat of 60 minutes you might like;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuZi5iJbPTg&pp=0gcJCfwAo7VqN5tD
Beautifully written wisdom more need to feel. I have not experienced it in the exotic destinations you have, but rural living and the mountains of upstate NY and Vermont imparted plenty. To humanity's demise, most no longer have access to these connections. We have been fed the briefest of illusions by fossil fuels that we are above the planet, and deemed the harmonious ways of the Indigenous as savage. Savage is Mark Zuckerberg's announcement of intent to build a data center the size of Manhattan to power AI. Technology and blind dominance are not wisdom. They are arrogance and death of spirit.
to envision a positive future we need more awe, more "visceral tastes" (to use Stuart Candy's words) , it's why I love the arts so much, people don't value to power arts have for this!
Mysteries’ marvels~
Notice nature’s huge, wee shows.
Bask in awe, and act.
Thank you. This led me to scribble down a poem in my journal and reading your words was the best way to enjoy my coffee this morning. Thank you.
You write very well Jason, with passion. I have spent several years maybe decades now on Climate Change issues. I put out articles "From the Holocene to the end of the Anthropocene -6th Mass Extinction' and 'Capitalism and the Environment' taking the stance Greed Capitalism in diametrically opposite to Climate Change. I am ready to release my book 'Harvest of Hope: Urban Agriculture in a Global Climte Crisis". While I very much enjoy your essay, the political system is not structured for long multi-national challenges over time. Even mankind, we are not programmed to look into the future but to respond to issues of today. Thank you for writing this. It should be compulsary reading for all schools when sanity returns. As we say in Canada 'elbows up'.
Thanks very much, Bill. I'll toast to "when sanity returns," absolutely. But like you, I recognize that human nature and the nature of our systems aren't built for the task at hand. Which is why we need a culture that accounts for those weaknesses - guardrails against power, institutionalized equity and empathy, a recognition that economies are subsets of ecologies, a planetary view that's both mystical and scientific, and a long view of history, etc. - to guide us. We are, here in the U.S., going very quickly in the wrong direction on all accounts, and right when we can afford it least.
I have friends who have told me that I need to stop doing “air quotes” whenever I say the word “time”, and this has convinced me not to.
Absolutely gorgeous prose in here, Jason. Bravo.
You might want to add "space" to your repertoire as well, just to be safe.
Thank you, Chloe.
I had many awe moments just reading your essay and had many pauses just to reflect what you wrote - profound! And towards the end I thought of all the things that brought me joy today, a dancing butterfly, a sneaky new leaf on my travelers palm, the song malena. Wow so much beauty in everyday life! This was an exceptionally beautifully crafted essay, I will come back to it again. Thank you for writing this.
I wait for your essay to drop in my inbox every Friday! It makes my day :) Love from India!
Thank you, Ankita. That's very kind of you to say. May your days be filled with sneaky leaves and other joys...
Gorgeous. Deep gratitude for provoking fresh thoughts. Among them is the notion that awe can't be pursued like some kind of adventure tourism but arises unbidden in routine life when we are fully paying attention. As a poet friend of mine one said, "Everything will surprise you if you let it."
Thank you, Merrill. Keep that poet friend around. That's the best wise line I've heard in a long time. I may have to borrow it and pass it on.
Awe as a clear lens. I love that. Thank you for this beautiful essay - and for inviting the perfect practice. 😉🌲
Thank you, Leah.
Spectacular Post, Awe is a gift I experience daily as I wake in this beautiful troubled world. Being on the coast of Maine a huge energy booster. I appreciate your posts and others you highlight.
Thank you, Barbara. There is something about the coast here that feels like more than home, isn't there?
This piece is extraordinary. Thank you for crafting it. I’ll be spending a lot of time rereading, sharing and thinking about it.
Thank you, Melissa, for carrying my work farther onward.
Beautiful, striking, and deeply felt. Thank you. I’ve been laid up with lower back issues, but will be sure to follow your directive today. Slowly, patiently—capturing the awe of motion, however limited it might be.
Slowly and patiently is the way to go, Rebecca. I'm sorry that in this case it's forced upon you. Be well.
Jason - thanks for the thoughtful essay. As I was reading, I recalled that in Michael Pollan’s book about psychedelics, he also touches on awe as a profoundly connecting experience. This was right around when we witnessed the total solar eclipse in a waterfront park in Cleveland with a whole lot of other people. Everyone was so friendly and joyful, it was palpable.
Amen to this: “any one of a million ways we might connect with existential realities outside our self. The magic can be small and quiet, and often is.” Words to live by.
Thanks, Julie. We had a similar experience with a crowd in central Maine. We all slogged in on a snowy closed road to a lakeside state park, like would-be gold miners heading over the Chilkoot Pass... but then all found our quiet spots and watched the marvel of the eclipse unfold.
It really makes you fall in love with humanity — and this amazing world we get to share.