Going Beyond the Blasé: Living in the Wow

You know those moments in life when you are so aware of and filled with the beauty of the moment, it feels like a “full-body wow?” I had one of those recently.

A couple of months ago, the autumn color in our region was at its height. One day while driving down the lane that weaves through the woods to our home, I experienced a truly transcendent moment.

As I drove along the lane, sunlight illuminated and filtered through the yellows and scarlets in the canopy overhead. I was surrounded by an amazing color-and-light show. The autumn leaves appeared to catch the light, and reflect and somehow expand it.

The beauty in that moment was so complete, so full, I had to stop the car and just take it in.

And as I sat there, drinking in that fullness, I became aware it had a quality of sound. Each color and hue sounded a different note. It surrounded me in a symphony of incandescence.

The trees literally seemed to be singing with the essence of life, and as I allowed it in, that song of life reverberated throughout me.

Then I realized I was saying to myself, “Oh. Wow.” Over and over: Wow. That one word summed up the awe and wonder I felt as I sat surrounded in that moment by nature’s majesty.

For several heartbeats I seemed to be outside of the stream of time and at the same time, completely aligned with the flowing of life. Both observer and observed. Simultaneously apart from AND part of All That Is.

Wow.

And in the wake of that pivotal moment, I began to reflect on the “wow” moments of life. What are they about? What do they signify? How do we get to “wow” and is it possible to live from that space - consistently?

Through the following weeks, I began to see how often those moments of “wow” are present for me: Seeing a peacock’s iridescent display from my kitchen window. Watching a pet hen follow my husband around the yard, and finding one of her eggs unharmed in the midst of a current construction project. Feeling deeply touched by the privilege of coaching another human being in his or her journey of discovery and expansion.

Stated simply: The wows are everywhere.

I now believe the wow’s are always there, like the air we breathe. It is simply up to us to remember to do the breathing.

As I played with the letters, w-o-w, what came to me was this: The Wisdom of Wonder. In that space of wonder, we experience the willing heart and open mind of a child.

We are present to the wisdom that comes through in those moments because wisdom, like the experience of wow, is accessed in present moment.

In other words, the wow is in the now.

And in that space of wow-now-ness, we remember our connection to Self and to That Which is Greater. From this place of deepest connection, we also remember the truth that we are whole, full and complete just as we are, and that we are infinitely powerful creators.

This is what I mean by the phrase, “Living in the Wow.”

As a coach, I often invite my clients to shift their perspective, and that alone can allow them to access wow. And of course, this is true for me, too!  Moving into the end of another Gregorian year, I feel a major wow around the fullness of this year and the gifts it has brought – perhaps especially those gifts of “growth opportunities” that were less than comfortable, because they provided such catalyst for insight and expansion.

To support your ongoing expansion in wow: See the sidebar for tips on living in the wow, and be sure to access this month’s free audio download. And stay tuned for future issues of Going Beyond, as we continue to explore this concept of Living in the Wow.

Please accept my warmest wishes for you and your family during this holiday season. May your days and nights be filled with joyful wows and may this next new year be even more wow for you!

In celebration of the adventure,

For additional resources on going within to access your wisdom and wholeness, go to www.lynallen.com.

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. This article may be shared with others if you include the author information at the bottom of this newsletter.