12 March 2026

Call me Captain Obvious, but this feels like the hardest winter of recent memory.  In the news and the natural world we see evidence of destructive forces all around.  I continue to take refuge in nature and have been startled to see  sharp, brittle edges even in the ocean.

While being somewhat spooked by the razor sharp ice in the bay (we still “swim” most days), I’ve mostly been filled with wonder to see this coastal world anew.  Small ice volcanos, rocks with halos, low tide frozen into mermaid scales, and seaweed crosses catch me up in a new flow.  Awe researcher Dacher Keltner puts it this way:

“Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world…. Being in a context of awe leads to a ‘small self.’ We can quiet that nagging voice of the interfering neurotic simply by locating ourselves in contexts of more awe.”

~ Dacher Keltner: Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life

With so much strife, violence and hardship in the world, placing ourselves in contexts of awe is not a luxury, but may be the key to our species’ survival and thriving. Noticing the hearts emerging from lacy ice can actually reinforce neural pathways of service, compassion, and joy.

To strengthen our hearts as a species, Keltner encourages us to seek awe every day … in moral beauty, collective effervescence, nature, music, visual design, spirituality and religion, life and death, and epiphany.  Here is an awesome interview (sorry, couldn’t resist ; ) that describes these ways to experience more wonder in our days – and change the world!

I would love to hear what is creating feelings of awe and wonder in you. Please drop me a note or share your awesome moments on social media. Your open and generous hearts in the midst of so much suffering are certainly sources of awe for us at Limina.

May awe and wonder fill you with peace and strengthen you for the hard work of healing.

Abundant blessings,

Libby