Thought for the week

“OH Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder...”

Awesome wonder is very good for your mental health.

Psychiatrists have studied the effect of regular “awe walks” where participants were encouraged to experience awe in response to their surroundings. A control group simply went for a walk. It was found that people in the “awe group” experienced significant boosts of positive prosocial emotions such as compassion and gratitude. Feelings of awe encourage us to shift our attention outward instead of inward, leading to improvements in our emotional wellbeing. Interestingly,

“selfies” taken before and after these walks showed a definite change in perspective. The “awe” group focussed the photos more on their surroundings, rather than themselves, and also smiled more widely!

I am lucky that I live in an area where I experience awe by looking out of the window in the morning. The sight of the mountains also provides a focus for prayer. But there are other ways to access awe, such as items we read or watch on television. Did you watch “Autumnwatch” recently? That is always full of awesome facts.

For instance, trees and other plants in a forest can communicate information about predators and disease using the mycelia of fungi.

Every woodland area has its own network under ground. Some researchers are calling it the “wood wide web.” Is that awesome or what?

Last helping of awe – astronomers have discovered a planet (way beyond the solar system) where it rains rocks, the seas are molten lava 62 miles deep and the winds blow at 3,000mph.

When I read that, my awe response went into overdrive.

Keep looking out for all the awe in our wonderful world.