Dacher Keltner has been studying the “science” of awe for more than 20 years. His first paper, coauthored with Jonathan Haidt, was published in 2003: Approaching Awe, a Moral, Spiritual, and Aesthetic Emotion. The paper observed that there are two core elements of awe: perceived vastness and a need for accommodation. In the book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, Keltner identified the “Eight Wonders of Life” which produce a sense of awe:

1. Moral beauty — witnessing others’ courage, kindness, strength, or ability to overcome obstacles
2. Collective effervescence (collective movement) — moving in unison with others through dance, sports, rituals, ceremonies, or events like doing the wave at a stadium
3. Nature — encounters with the natural world
4. Music — from chanting and lullabies to symphonies and electric guitars
5. Visual design / art — great paintings, street art, architecture, and other visual creations
6. Spirituality / mystical encounters — religious and spiritual experiences of the sacred or divine
7. Big ideas / epiphanies — sudden insights or encounters with profound knowledge
8. Life and death — witnessing birth and confronting mortality

Keltner observed that seeing something vast in nature — the night sky, the ocean, huge mountains — is the most universal experience that generates a sense of awe. It requires no cultural context, no shared language. It just is. I have certainly experienced awe when witnessing these sorts of sights. This is one of the reasons I encourage people to “get outdoors” on a regular basis. When circumstances have threatened to destabilize or overwhelm my life, I have often found myself heading to the ocean, or someplace where I could stare at the night sky, to find balance.

While I have experienced awe in all eight ways, the most powerful for me seems to be what Keltner called “moral beauty.” My theology suggests a reason that “moral beauty” is particularly impactful. It starts with the understanding that God is by definition awe-worthy. In my post about love, I noted that I believe the Bible identifies love as one of the most significant, if not the most significant, attribute of God’s character. When people act in love — demonstrating kindness, sacrifice, courage — they are demonstrating God’s character. What could be more awe-inspiring than seeing God’s most fundamental characteristic modeled by people who were created in His image?

Several turning points in my life were driven by encounters with people who were embodying Godly love. These instances simultaneously let me see amazing possibilities and gave me a sense of humility. I have noticed that not only first-hand encounters have been impactful; just reading about these sorts of acts can have a profound impact on me.

This week I noted that there are a number of stories which not only brought me a sense of awe when I first encountered them, but continue to produce a sense of awe years later. When I tell people these stories, I find myself tearing up — not tears of sadness, not tears of joy, but tears of overwhelming emotion. Tears of awe. I plan to update this page when I notice stories that have this sort of impact on me. Here are the first few:

• The introduction to the book Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed by Philip P. Hallie. The book is about the community of Le Chambon, which refused to cooperate with the Nazis and helped more than 5,000 Jews escape Nazi camps. There was no single hero — rather, the whole community engaged in a conspiracy of goodness. What brings tears to my eyes is the introduction, where the author recounts a letter he received from a young girl noting that the book gave her hope when the darkness threatened to overwhelm her.
• The movie I Will Push You. The documentary is beautiful, but there is one scene which I tear up over every time I try to describe it. The main characters are facing one of the most difficult climbs on the Camino. They stop for lunch. When they get up, a group from a nearby table stands and says, “We have been watching you push your friend. You need a break. We have this next section. You aren’t going to push. Walk for yourself this next section.” It was needed. The next section, the wheelchair needed to be carried. It was possible with six people, but not with one. While the six were carrying the chair, one of the smaller people was carrying everyone’s trekking poles.
• Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson. The book is about how God prepares cultures and peoples for the gospel by placing redemptive analogies into the fabric of their culture, so they could understand. There are a few people groups that, when the gospel arrived, said, “What took you so long? We knew we were in bondage. We have been waiting for you to tell us about being released.”

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. — Philippians 2:5–11 (ESV)