Students - Today I have a definition for you, a definition of the word awe from GREATER GOOD MAGAZINE.
Awe is the feeling we get in the presence of something vast that challenges our understanding of the world, like looking up at millions of stars in the night sky or marveling at the birth of a child.When people feel awe, they may use other words to describe the experience, such as wonder, amazement, surprise, or transcendence.
You have likely used - or heard someone use - the word awesome, and this word comes from having a feeling of awe. (The word awful was once clearly connected to the word awe as well, but it took a dark turn.)
Many people experience a feeling of wonder, surprise, amazement...awe...when they spend time in nature. Earlier this week, I listened to an episode of the podcast Hidden Brain, all about the science of awe. If you have never listened to a podcast, the ones I enjoy are like educational television programs (I have never had a TV as an adult) without the pictures - I listen on my phone. I listen while cooking or driving, cleaning or walking on my dad's old treadmill. Anyway, this one about awe got me thinking about times when I have experienced such a sense of wonder. And yes, I too am often in nature when I have awe fills me from toe to nose.
This week, I also shared the below photo of our chickens' eggs on social media, and my friend Linda asked if I would save blue and green shells for her so that she can turn them into watercolor paints. Of course I said, "Yes."
The other week, my friend Heidi of my juicy little universe complimented the longer lines of one of my poems. As I admire her writing, this has me thinking about how I might play around more with the lengths of poem lines. And so, while the first draft of this poem had shorter lines...it shifted to longer lines. Thank you, Heidi!
Here are a couple of things you might try out this week:
1. Go outside. Let something fill you with wonder or surprise. Feel awe. Write.
2. Experiment with your own line breaks, drafting the same words in a different way by simply changing where you go to a new line. Read your poem out loud each way and see which works best for you. I think that the longer lines work best in today's poem because fewer breaks make the poem feel more like a whispered conversation with a friend, somehow more casual and real.
Tanita is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at {fiction, instead of lies} with a mighty cactus poem and painting along with some inspiring (and much needed by me) words about writing and goals. Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.
Look around, my friends. It is a beautiful world out there.
xo,
Amy
