AWE … Recognizing, Experiencing, Living It! (Post 79)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Post 79

AWE … Recognizing, Experiencing, Living It!

Last month, a group of us spent four lovely hours at the Cincinnati Art Museum.  A visiting exhibit of women’s clothing dating from 1910 to 1980, from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection prompted this trip. The dresses were creations of well-known designers and the needlework and fabrics were exquisite.  I was in awe!  My favorite was an evening gown with a full skirt totally comprised of narrow bands of material with blending soft colors.  Later, we checked out the special Cincinnati Wing and marveled at the paintings, pottery, and intricately carved wooden furniture.   

We all agreed upon leaving, that there should be more – and regular - visits to the Art Museum ... to experience the sense of awe and be inspired by the beauty of creative minds and hands.  We talked further … how often do we deliberately place ourselves in position to experience awesomeness?    Do we dismiss such ventures as not available, too expensive, taking too much time?

Further into the discussion, I began to wonder how experiencing awe can be a discipline of mind and body.  To see, to hear, to touch, to smell, to taste … using our senses, how might we open ourselves to experiencing beyond the mundane?  How could this expand our journeys of recovery to greater depths of appreciation and thankfulness?  Indeed, how would experiencing awe fit into our lives as a daily discipline?

Working my way through the senses, I offer the following suggestions as to how we can increase our experiences of awe in daily living.  May these serve only as beginning starters to fuel recognitions of awe in our midst!

SIGHT: colors and shades in nature, artwork, fabrics, painted surfaces, pottery, stain-glass; the balance of sculpture; seeing excitement in a child’s eyes; the grandeur of mountain heights
SOUNDS:  music of instruments, stimulating discussions, singing voices, animal calls,   joyful expressions, the wind, the surf, the clippity-clop of horses’ hooves on country roads, soothing words, healing words, rewarding affirmations, the listening to one another
TOUCH:  the softness of grass, texture of bark, wet sand, smooth rocks, smooth satin, rough burlap, warm water, packed snowballs, polished wood
SMELL:  fresh-baked bread, fresh-cut lumber, pine trees in the mountains, clean laundry, bins of wheat, rosebuds, candles lit
TASTE:  homemade extra-vanilla ice cream  (enough said!) 
In closing, let us keep in mind – and practice – the often-heard expression in recovery circles:  we are grateful* members (of the human race)!    [* awe-struck by gratitude]

Blessings,
Rev. Janet Jacobs
Founding Director
Gambling Recovery Ministries

For more information on grateful recovery from gambling addiction, go to
www.gamblersanonymous.org
www.gam-anon.org

Posted by Gambling Recovery Ministries at 10:07 AM