How can you expand your sense of wonder and awe?
As an expressive arts practitioner, I (Tamara) have built my capacity for embodied presence and a deep desire to be with my experiences fully. Arguably, some experiences are easier to be with than others in life but over the summer, I was on a quest to create opportunities for experiences that warranted my full attention and presence. I started on a quest for experiences of awe. Awe is a complex human emotion that has been studied extensively (learn more here if you are interested), but my sense of it is related to wonder and amazement. The paradox is that the search requires me to be still, rather than busy. The more I am able to be with an experience, the more I receive.
I received a big experience of awe and wonder while kayaking with a friend. We were gifted with the an incredible experience of being accompanied by six manatees who were swimming up the same canal we were traveling to get back to where we launched our boats. It felt like pure magic. I made art about it a few days later. I explored it in image, movement, and words through my expressive arts practice. I can still touch the experience now through the images. I continue to benefit from the nurturing effects of their presence, of my process of reflecting through the arts in image and movement. My expressive arts practice provides a way for me to be fully present to life and to find moments of awe to nourish my soul.