Awestruck
(A reflection in 4 parts)
Awestruck
Part 1: That moment
We all know the experience. We have stepped into a cathedral, and we stop in awe, looking at the vaulted ceiling, astounded by the sense of space, the cavern of air between the pillars. Or we are out on a walk in the countryside enjoying the beauty of nature, when we turn a corner and behold a vista of extraordinary beauty. We stop and stare in awe.
Notice, that we have been stopped in our tracks. There is something in the experience that forces us to be still. We sometimes say that air is “heavy” with scent, and in a similar way, the very air becomes heavy with beauty. We cannot – for a moment – press against it. Or, rather, it seems an offence to move, showing a lack of respect for the wonder of the moment. We must stop to do it justice, to honour it. We dare barely breathe lest we disturb the perfection of what we are experiencing.
We recognise that we have encountered something rare and precious. We feel anointed to be there and share something so special. Everything else fades away; it loses focus: all our attention is here and now. In a moment, the spell will crack, and normality begin to pour in through the fissures, but, for now, we are in an enchanted realm, that was here all along, and we have now stumbled into it. Our heart soars; the fences of our minds are blasted away, casting our vision to the far reaches of the horizon; yet, if we are alone, we may well kneel in silent reverent awe and devotion. To be alive to experience this, and to know it, and to be held in it.
These moments are, indeed, rare and precious. We do not quite know what to do with them, except treasure them in our hearts. But they are so very out of the ordinary that it’s just too hard to fit them together with our everyday lives – and so we don’t. Does the wonder of these moments mean that the rest of our lives are tawdry by comparison, or do they mean that these are truly “magical” moments, not connected to “real” life?
Spiritual Devotion 