Awesome or Or Some - the benefits of looking for the awesome in even the most difficult of times....
(3 minute read - 497 words)
How changing the lens can change your entire day.....
Yesterday, as I was sitting on a bench in the park enjoying the sunshine, a stranger asked if she could join me. I nodded, she sat, and for the next 15 or so minutes she regaled me with all the difficulties that were filling her world. I nodded and raised the odd eyebrow, but I didn’t feel the need to speak, my words clearly weren’t needed. As she stood to go, she thanked me for a wonderful chat and I smiled. I watched her walk away and smiled at how differently we saw our worlds.
Years of mindful meditation have taught me to see my world through the eyes of wonder, delight and curiosity, and to make a point of noticing the awesome things that make up my day. When I was first taught about the positive power of awe, how it raises our feelings of life satisfaction, makes us feel more connected to the world around us and to others, and generally makes us happier, I was told that it’s found only in the big and impressive things; stunning sunrises, magnificent views, the architecture or natural phenomenon that make us wonder about how they were created, the awesome things that take our breath away and reminded us that we are but a tiny cog in a much, much bigger machine. Over time I’ve taken a different view. To me the feelings of awe can also be found in the tiny and the mundane, the shapes made by shadows, the reflections made by water, the feel of a warm breeze on my skin, the smell of good coffee, the sounds of laughter. If we reserved feelings of awe for the big things, we miss so much.
As I watched the woman strike up another conversation with someone sitting on a bench further along the path I thought about how seeing the awesome might have changed our conversation, How we see our world is up to us. She wanted to voice her issues, I found it awesome that she had the confidence to voice them to a stranger. I mulled over the words rolling around in my mind - difficulties, negatives, or some awesome? I smiled at the way 'or some', and 'awesome' sound the same, and in under a minute they had become my new three word re-frame mantra for when I'm being a little or a big bit negative, a simple question that is meaningful to me, and one that might become meaningful to you '...or some awesome?’
As I’m typing this a tiny bit of awesome has come into view – there’s a part of my garden that I really need to spend some time cleaning up, and as thoughts of pulling weeds and sweeping leaves came into my mind the sun shining across the garden used the weeds to create this awesome shadow. '...or some awesome?’ Three words, one reminder, '...or some awesome?' I think it's awesome!
Bron Roberts is a leading Laughter Yoga and Mindfulness teacher providing evidence based, tailored workshops for workplaces and community groups. With a background in general and positive psychology, neuroscience and humour as a therapeutic modality, and as Australia’s only Certified Humour Professional and Laughter Yoga Wellbeing Master trainer she’s happy to be called a happiness nerd. Her mission for 2022 is to help 100,000 people find their own version of happy.