After choosing to be a person who delights more, I’ve been thinking about what causes me delight and how I’d define it.  Is something a delight because it’s small?  Because it’s surprising? Yes, I think that the element of surprise wakes me up and captures my attention.  Smallness also draws me in to pay attention and see a different perspective.  Are delights always small in size or in ordinariness?  Not necessarily, but if it’s an experience larger in scope, then perhaps ecstasy, elation or reverence are more appropriate descriptors.  I think of the little gasp or lift of my heart and mood when I feel delight.  A bubble, a sparkle, an enchantment.  From the light.  A moment of joy that feels akin to contentment because it’s part of everyday experience.  I think because I’m paying attention and in the present moment, I feel both grounded and uplifted.  Gratitude and appreciation follow delight without fail.

Is awe different than delight? Yes, moments of awe feel expansive, not just a lift but like my heart and spirit grow bigger and that I dissolve into something larger than me (web of life/universal spirit).  I do think that scale has something to do with awe.  Having a wide-open view from a mountain or along the coast.  Looking up at something much taller than me like the mesas and rock spires along desert riverbeds.   Knowing that a Redwood tree is hundreds of years old.  Seeing an animal in the wild.  This last one points to the extra-ordinary nature of the awe experience.  In addition to feeling larger, awe feels calmer than delight.  I feel a deep peace in experiencing the beauty and grandeur of nature.  I’m guessing we’ve evolved to respond to natural beauty, that it gives us a feeling of trust and belonging.  I know with climate grief, I am reassured that there are still beautiful wild spaces to welcome us.   

What about wonder?  Similar to awe, reverence and delight, but this also has the element of curiosity.  From my mindfulness practice, I have learned that curiosity is so helpful because it is a way to befriend and welcome an experience.  Not difficult when you’re in a state of wonder.  Or a state of admiration.  When I’m curious about and amazed by the myriad manifestations of the natural world I always feel more engaged with living.  When I feel wonder, my resistance to the difficulties of life feels less powerful.  When I turn this sense of wonder towards my own body and brain I have a healthier relationship with myself. 

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