I love it when I run
across something that helps me understand my own experiences. Like this
article, for instance:
Awe
Enhances Well-Being
A paper
published by researchers at the Stanford University and the University of
Minnesota, "Awe Expands People’s Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making,
and Enhances Well-Being,"
concludes...
"When do people feel as if they are rich in time? Not
often, research and daily experience suggest. However, three experiments
showed that participants who felt awe, relative to other emotions, felt they
had more time available and were less impatient.
"Participants
who experienced awe were also more willing to volunteer their time to help
others, more strongly preferred experiences over material products , and
experienced a greater boost in life satisfaction.... These changes in
decision making and well being were due to awe’s ability to alter the
subjective experience of time. Experiences of awe bring people into the
present moment, which underlies awe’s capacity to adjust time perception,
influence decisions, and make life feel more satisfying than it would
otherwise."
(From Child Care
Exchange)
Wow- this explains a
lot. Yes, it was an “A-ha moment” for me. This concept explains why my husband and I feel it’s
worth the trouble to spend ten days camping in the redwoods up north every
summer. Of course we experience a
deep sense of awe as we stroll through groves of 2,000 year old trees that are
so huge it boggles the mind. Who wouldn’t be awestruck? The awe sticks with us
for months, and makes our yearly camping getaways a necessary part of our
mental and physical health. We
call our little tent and our regular campsite our Budget Vacation Home, and
look forward to our camping trips all year.
This article also
gives insight into why my years as a teacher of toddlers and toddlers’ parents
have gone by in a flash: I feel a sense of awe many times every day at
preschool. I’m amazed and awestruck at the wisdom of the children, and at the
toddler curiosity that leads them to be so wise. I’m in awe of the development and growth that I get to
observe up close in the children and parents. It’s truly awesome (yes, it’s an
overused word) to be surrounded by parents who are so dedicated to doing right
by their child, and who are also demonstrating how important it is that all
adults care for the well-being of ALL children. And I could go on and on………
The word “awe” is a
perfect way to describe how I feel at school on a daily basis. I quickly forget
the inevitable minor frustrations and challenges, but the sense of awe goes
home with me every day and stays with me. It makes me eager to get to school
the next day and do it all over again.
And of course,
there’s the element of
“awwwwwww…”Factor as well:
even though “cute” isn’t part of the early childhood educator’s
professional lexicon, there’s no denying that the words and actions of these
tiny little new people are incredibly adorable and heartwarming. But cuteness alone would not have kept
me going in this demanding work for all these years. “Cute” wears thin over time, but “awe-inspiring” never does.
My new understanding
about the effect of “awe” on the human brain and emotions also helps me
understand how and why the extremely dedicated parents in our school somehow
manage to make it all work.
Juggling the demands of a parent participation preschool, young
children, jobs, and other responsibilities is not easy. I often wonder if some
of these moms and dads have some sort of super powers to manage everything as
well as they do. I think that each
one of our parents must be experiencing that exhilarating sense of awe and
wonder as they get to know a group of children, and observe them at play for an
entire year. Awe is motivating.
Awe gives energy. Awe produces super-parent-powers when they’re needed. Our parents are in awe of the developmental
leaps and bounds for which they have a front-row seat. This causes the brain’s
perception of time to shift a little, helping them to feel less rushed, and
helping them realize that all the time and effort they put in to our school is well worth it. This is what I experience as a teacher,
and also what I experienced 20 years ago when I was an Explorer Preschool mom.
Look for
awe-inspiring moments with your children every day. It will help you to focus
less on the not-so-awesome parts of parenting, and will help you to fully
experience this special time as your children are growing. It will help you
make better parenting decisions and be a happier person in general. Happy
parents raise happy kids.
Explorer parents,
please take note, however: It takes a fully staffed classroom to offer the
children an awe-inspiring day at school.
On your classroom work days, please wait until you’re on the way to
school (and on time) to be awestruck by your amazing children. We’re still depending on you to be at
school ready to work with all the other awesome kids by 8:45 sharp!
I’m looking forward
to experiencing the awe of toddlerhood together with all my new families as we
begin another awesome year at preschool!
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