“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” - W.B. Yeats
Dear Hope+Wellness Family,
So there I was, this past May, high above Zimbabwe in an ancient-looking helicopter, silently praying that its engine wasn't about to give out mid-flight. As the blades chopped through the air and we tilted sideways into the sky, the horizon dropped away—and there it was: what I had endured SEVEN long plane flights for, including a plane that broke mid-air over the Atlantic after taking off from New York: Victoria Falls. I was in Africa for many reasons (more on that another time!), but one was to explore my curiosity about the land where all our ancestors are from.
The Indigenous name for Victoria Falls, in the local Lozi language, is Mosi-oa-Tunya—"The Smoke That Thunders"—and flying up there in the helicopter, that was exactly what I saw. The earth literally split open into a giant abyss, a continuous ribbon of water falling straight into it, sending up a massive column of mist that roared like thunder. Endless rainbows spun out of the spray, catching the light like magic against the dark water. It was easily the most breathtaking thing I had ever seen. It was pure, raw, power.
Have you ever had a moment in your life where time just…stops?
Well, that's what happened to me then. The falls were so vast that time slowed into what I refer to as an eternal moment, and I suddenly felt incredibly small.
I saw right then that my life—compared to the millions of years it took to carve out that gorge—was just a single speck of mist rising off the water. It’s here for a second, and then it’s gone. I saw that all of our lives are like this, and that underneath it all, something much bigger has been happening all along: nature, quietly continuing on.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow called moments like this peak experiences—flashes of deep presence where you feel completely pulled out of your own head. And when that peak experience is triggered by something vast, scientists call it awe. Researchers Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt say awe happens when we meet something so huge that our brains have to stretch just to make room for it. You could experience awe while standing under a dark sky observing the Milky Way, listening to a beautiful song, holding your child, or looking into the eyes of someone you love.
Most days, our brains are stuck on an exhausting loop—I'm running late, I need to reply to messages, what does everyone think of me? But awe can help turn down the volume. Researchers call it the "small self" effect. Neuroimaging studies have shown that awe actually quiets our Default Mode Network—the exact neural pathway responsible for self-focused worrying and constant internal chatter, gives our minds a much-needed break from ourselves (Monroy & Keltner, 2023) (and check out this article on the science of awe).
So whenever life gets overwhelming, I’ve been doing an experiment where I practice being small and ordinary. I bring back the memory of the waterfall and the mist rising from that ancient crack in the earth. (I also love these videos of Carl Sagan’s "Pale Blue Dot"or this one here too looking look at how tiny our earth really is in space!) Connecting to these feelings of awe related to the vastness of the universe, can help you connect deeply to what in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), we call "Wise Mind"—a place of natural wisdom and peace within you that softens life's chaos into deep calm and clarity.
So what's the point of our lives if they are so small in the grand scheme of the universe? I think each of us is invited to answer this question for ourselves, and it’s perhaps our most important work. As for me, the older I get, the more the answer is simply: to be here—to love my little corner of the world, and to marvel at the beautiful mystery of it all.
Life really is an adventure, so I encourage you to go out and make room for moments of beauty and wonder. Go on adventures, of any size – they could be as small as visiting a new ice cream shop or traveling to a new place. I hope you are having many wonderful ones this summer!
~Reflection~ Questions for You
Have you ever had a moment where time seemed to slow down and you felt a sudden flash of wonder? Where were you, and what was happening around you? What did it feel like?
If you picture yourself as just one tiny, necessary speck in a vast, ancient universe, how does that shift the weight of the pressures you are carrying right now (or not)?
What is something in this world—nature, art, science, or human connection—that you'd like to understand or experience more deeply in your life?
If awe is something we have to make room for, what is one small way you could incorporate more wonder into your life this month?
With kindness,
Dr. Victoria Ranade, PhD, MBA, ABPP
President + Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Hope+Wellness
