Rethinking space.
Returning with renewed awe, and intentions for the next lap around the sun.
Last month we intentionally took some [space]. When you’re reading a book, you need to keep enough distance between your eyes and the page to be able to see the words. Otherwise, it’s all a blur.
We spent the last 10 months incubating this two part question: is awe an ingredient to systems change? And if it is, how do we support awe-based changemaking?
And we have an answer. But the answer required some space.
Space is incredibly underrated. Whoarewewithoutalittlespace?
Spacing out boosts our creative thinking and even improves our capacity to remember things.
The space between the notes makes the music.
The space in a womb can literally make life happen.
The view from space can give us the borderless perspective on our planet that we yearn for (now more than ever).
The infinite space our galaxy is floating through is incomprehensibly vast, and can prompt us to reach for the dirt on the ground, the reliable home under our feet. That perspective has a name. The overview effect. It speaks to the cognitive shift that some astronauts report when viewing Earth from outer space. Researchers describe it as an awe-inspiring experience with self-transcendent qualities, triggered by the striking visual perspective of seeing the planet from above. Many astronauts return home with an intense appreciation of Earth's beauty, unexpected emotion, and an enhanced sense of connection to other people and the planet as a whole. A transformational moment of awe, translating to a new understanding of our shared home.
All of this space creates proximity.
The further we float into the sky, the more we can see where we are, and where we come from. This overview effect doesn’t require NASA, Musk, or any trips outside of our atmosphere. Our latest conversation with Chris Jordan surfaced the idea that awareness of scale can bring a similar flavor of awe. I may never see our planet from space, but I can always contemplate the otherworldliness of our planet from a cellular level when I observe my fingertips or touch the bark of a tree.
Look at one little tiny detail of the world and it leads to the whole universe.
-Chris Jordan
This process of zooming in and zooming out brings us closer to understanding who we are in relation to the world around us, and the ever-complex worlds within us.
The space we take away from our art, our work, our mission - we may be able to see it as if for the very first time.
In the latter part of 2023, one of my ‘core people’ (my life-long support system human) received a cancer diagnosis none of us expected. Life inserted unintended space between myself and building Awe Exchange. In a moment, I felt propelled far away from the thing I had spent the year working on; every thought was suddenly geared towards something I had no control over. Sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for a surgery status report, I could not be farther away from the world of non-profit laboratories, content creation, grant applications, or podcast edits. But I found myself close to the thing that started it all in the first place: awe.
Awe. Awe. Awe. Awe. Awe. There’s a term for when a word is repeated so much that it loses meaning. Semantic satiation.
In the case of awe, if repeated enough, it does start sounding like a choir rehearsal’s vocal warmup. Contrary to other words that can often lose their meaning for me including ‘climate’, ‘global warming’, ‘activism’, and (my all-time favorite) ‘impact’ - the ‘awe’ word has renewed itself over and over again.
What started off as an elusive feeling I only encountered when traveling to a magical place or attending a sold-out Leif Vollebek concert, became a feeling I recognized watching strangers reunite with their loved ones in the post-operating waiting room. Even in fluorescent lighting, we can find the sublime.
Making space for awe-based changemaking to emerge.
So, the answer to our question - is awe an ingredient to systems change? Yes.
We’ve had hundreds of conversations, formally and informally, in the past year, and the emerging thread is in awe's ability to trigger and transform.
Awe as a trigger for action. Awe as a pathway for transformation.
This coming year:
We're rolling out pilot projects with organizations working on topics in climate to gender equity, from Morocco to Portugal and beyond. We are co-developing how awe-based changemaking tangibly works in local contexts. If an organization or group comes to mind, let us know!
After hosting Feasts of Awe across 3 continents last year, we're launching Feast of Awe hosting decks in 2023. Comment below if you want to join the waitlist and surface ingredients of awe in your community.
We're continuing The Awe Effect podcast as a sidekick to our evolution of this experiment. Is there someone we should be speaking to? Send us your suggestions.
Thanks for making space for us in your inbox. We’re so grateful for this growing community. Wishing you moments of awe in 2024, and much space for whatever you’re making room for this year.
With kindness and curiosity,
Laura