It’s no secret that there has been an increase in ADHD (formally ADD) diagnoses formally, and many more people are self-diagnosing with ADHD over the last few years. It is true that our attention spans are reducing, and there are a host of reasons that this may be, but I want to point out another ADD problem in our society, “Awe Deficit Disorder”. I came across this concept while listening to well-known podcaster and author, Tim Ferris, recently. He was in the middle of discussing a how he blocks out time to go be out in nature, spending time in solitude, often fasting while doing so. He claimed that as a society we have deficit in regularly being in awe. I began to think of the lasting impact that can have on us as individuals and as a collect, not having more awe-inspiring moments.
Think for yourself, when was the last time you were in awe? Not curious, not interested, but in awe. Being in awe connects us with something greater than ourselves, it often reminds us both of how small we are in the grand scheme of things, and also places us in the presence of immense, and often ineffable beauty. In his book, God in Search of Man, Jewish philosopher, Abraham Heschel, remarks, “One must rise to a higher plane of thinking in order to see, in order to sense the allusions, the glory, the presence. One must rise to a higher plan of living and learn to sense the urgency of the ultimate question, the supreme relevance of eternity. He who has not arrived at the highest realm, the realm of mystery; he who does not realize he is living at the edge of the mystery; he who has only a sense for the obvious and apparent, will not be able to life up his eyes, for whatever is apparent is not attached to the highest realm; which is highest is hidden. Faith, believing in God, is attachment to the highest realm, the realm of mystery” (p. 118).
What is lost by our lack of awe-inspiring moments is a lost sense of the realm of mystery, the realm where questions of ultimate purpose and reality are taken up. And so, we settle, eyes down looking at the six inches in front of our faces often substituting search for wonder and awe for mere curiosity. Curiosity is the kind of experience that sparks a quick search on google to find the answer. We become accustomed to thinking that all knowledge, all information is so readily accessible as googling when did Cleopatra live or who won the 1988 NBA Finals? Our vision becomes near-sighted, and the richness of being struck by beauty and wonder fades. This is only reinforced by our society’s strong emphasis on efficiency, trying to accomplish tasks quickly in order to move on to the next thing. Our lives get organized in such a way that life becomes about accomplishments, the world is there to be mastered and controlled, our tools, technical knowledge. But awe and wonder push back against this trajectory. Awe and wonder cannot be mastered, cannot be controlled or contained just as a mystery cannot be solved the way a problem can.
There is quite a bit of research literature in the psychological field that notes how important it is for us to be connected to some kind of greater meaning than ourselves. This simply confirms what philosophers and theologians, as well as poets, and artists have known for centuries. Encountering “Beauty”, the kind that cannot be adequately put into words or human concepts, the kind that reorients us, to recognize our place in the cosmos, and finding ways to put ourselves in positions to encounter that with some sort of regularity is an essential part of a robust flourishing life. Slow down, take the time to sit and listen, to linger with a look, and become aware of all your senses. There just might be something awe inspiring to encounter that will feed your soul.