Reconnecting with Wonder to Spark Creativity

When the complexity of your work leads to burnout and tunnel vision, where do you find the energy to create solutions? 

Today, we're exploring the science of awe - that powerful feeling we experience in the presence of something vast. We'll share simple, evidence-based practices for weaving micro-moments of wonder into your busiest days, helping you downshift your nervous system and instantly restore your perspective.

In high-stress roles, we often get stuck in rumination and burnout. This episode explores the restorative power of awe, the feeling of wonder and humility in the presence of something vast (as defined by Dr. Dacher Keltner). 

We discuss the science showing how awe reduces cortisol and inflammation, while significantly boosting creativity and perspective. You'll learn the three-part practice:

1. Micro Awe: The daily "Awe Walk" to reset your stress response.
2. The Weekly Deep Dive: Spending extended time in nature to boost creativity by nearly 50%.
3. Awe in Community: Using Dr. Keith Tidball's concept of urgent biophilia to foster shared purpose and resilience.

Awe doesn't demand more of your time - it asks for your attention. Tune in to learn how to find those moments of wonder and bring new energy to your work supporting military families.

Further links and resources from this episode:

• Finding Awe in the Ordinary | Greater Good Magazine
• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/ 
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org 

Transcript

JESSICA BECKENDORF: [00:00:00] Hi, thanks for listening to the Practicing Connection Podcast. I'm Jessica.

CORAL OWEN: And I'm Coral.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Today we're exploring something that might sound a little bit magical -

CORAL OWEN: Aww.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah, awww! That's what I was just saying beforehand. I can't not do it. So specifically we're gonna be talking about how cultivating moments of awe in nature can help prevent burnout and reignite creativity.

CORAL OWEN: This topic is actually one of my favorites, Jess. I know that we were talking about that a little bit in our pre-show recording. But yeah, seriously, we've all, I'm sure we've all had those experiences like standing under trees after a rainstorm, catching the glow of a sunset, seeing a flock of birds move in unison.

It's those moments where time feels like it just slows down a bit. And these moments of awe are more than beautiful. They're actually deeply restorative.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: And [00:01:00] before we go further, let's actually get into what we mean by awe.

So psychologist Dr. Dacher Keltner describes it as, “The feeling we experience in the presence of something vast, that transcends our current understanding of the world.” 

It's that mix of wonder, humility and curiosity that pulls us out of ourselves and reminds us that there's more to life than what's right in front of us.

CORAL OWEN: Exactly, and just because you're reading that definition, it does kind of give the sense that, “Oh man, we really need to, you know, like be in front of the Grand Canyon or something.”

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

CORAL OWEN: It can also be a lot more micro than that. But we'll talk about that in a second. But truly, awe does have this incredible ability, whether micro or more on the grand scale, to shift our perspective from me to we, and remind us that we are part of something bigger.

And that shift in perspective can really [00:02:00] spark creativity, restore motivation, and bring us back into alignment with what really matters.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: And what's really interesting to me is that science backs that up, right? So researchers studying emotions like all people like Dr. Keltner and Florence Williams have found that these experiences help downshift our nervous system. They reduce hormones like cortisol. They lower inflammation. They even ease rumination, that repetitive like mental loop that we get stuck in when we're burned out. And that is definitely one area that I need to reduce.

CORAL OWEN: I think we can all find relativity in that. And truly the best part is, like we already mentioned, you don't have to go to great lengths to find these massive vantage points like the Grand Canyon or the Atlantic Ocean.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Great Lakes too! So, oh, you said “great [00:03:00] lengths,” but I was like, “Oh, well I could go to the Great Lakes. That's only like 45 minutes from where I live.”

CORAL OWEN: A little more than around the block than us. But yeah, I mean, you don't have to go to the Great Lakes to experience this phenomenon. And according to, I know a lot of people perhaps have read The Nature Fix, which is by Florence Williams. Then there's other research of course from psychologists like Paul Piff, that even these small daily moments of nature can produce measurable benefits.

And even as small as a dose of just a few minutes, like noticing a tree outside your window, or watching the clouds move, can begin that restorative process.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah. And when we extend that, when we spend a little more intentional time outdoors or share those experiences with others, we not only boost creativity, but we also deepen community connection, which is awesome. 

That's where the work of Dr. Keith Tidball comes in. [00:04:00] His concept of urgent biophilia highlights how people naturally turn to nature and greening projects during or after stressful times. So planting, rebuilding, restoring as a way to heal together.

CORAL OWEN: Yes. And so today we're talking about awe as a simple, accessible tool for resilience and renewal, and I've put together a couple of practices that can bring this to life. 

So starting with more small personal moments of awe and then deepening it to more of a weekly rhythm, and finally, expanding outward to include community.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: So let's get into it then.

CORAL OWEN: Sounds good, shall we? So, let's start small, okay? Because awe does not have to take a lot of time. It does not have to be grandiose. These micro practices can be woven into your daily routine, even on your busiest days, which I would actually argue, it matters even more. 

So one of my favorites is what researchers call an “awe walk.” And this can be a short walk, five to ten [00:05:00] minutes around your neighborhood, a local park, even in your office courtyard. And the goal - yes, of course exercise is great, and movement is wonderful, but that actually is not the primary focus here. It's your attention. 

And as you walk, look around with curiosity, what's one detail you might normally miss? Like the pattern of the leaves against the sky, the way the light hits the building, sounds of the birds, wind. You know, anything truly, you just have this act of noticing, and maybe you might even whisper, “Wow.” 

And when you finish, just take a slow breath. There is a lot of presence in breath as well. And ask yourself, “What surprised me just now? Does my body feel different than before?” 

These small moments of awe help reset our stress response to loose and rigid thinking. And also surprisingly, perhaps open creative pathways, which is something that we all need when we're running on empty.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: I really love how simple that is. It doesn't require scheduling or special equipment, just a [00:06:00] few intentional minutes to notice what's already around you.

CORAL OWEN: Precisely. Awe is everywhere. Just a lot of times we get a little busy and perhaps forget to look for it.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Hmm.

CORAL OWEN: So part two, and this is something that is maybe not as quickly accessible. We would invite you to maybe do this next practice once a week, once a month, whatever suits your schedule. Still with regularity, but perhaps less, a little bit less frequency than daily. 

Do take a little bit more time to immerse yourself in a setting that evokes wonder. This might be walking along the beach, going to the Great Lakes, hiking a favorite trail, perhaps even star gazing. And again, the goal here isn't to do anything in particular, necessarily. It's to be with the experience.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: I think that that's a really important distinction here because we're talking about awe, but awe isn't an action. Awe is a [00:07:00] feeling, right? 

So you're, feeling the awesomeness or the, you're feeling the awe right, and the act and the practice is putting yourself into the mindset or the position to be able to notice what might make you feel that sense of awe.

CORAL OWEN: A hundred percent. It really is experiencing wonder, but it's creating the space. Jessica, you're so right. That's a great distinction. 

So kind of with that sense of, “How are we creating the setting to allow awe and wonder to come in.” Some things that may help: leaving your phone behind or putting it on airplane mode. You also give yourself twenty or thirty minutes to explore, slowly and silently, and then when something catches your attention. Maybe it's a sound, a color, a scent. Something that fills the senses. 

Just pause. Let it fill your awareness for a few breaths. [00:08:00] And this simple act of attention, it can expand your sense of space and time.

It creates mental spaciousness. Studies do show that extended time in nature boosts creativity by nearly 50%, which I thought was incredible. Simply by allowing the brain's default mode network to rest and reset.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: That's really fascinating, and it really makes sense too. Some of my most creative ideas come after a time outdoors when I've really stopped trying to solve a problem. And look, I live in a city, and I still consider, you know, as I'm taking a walk, I'm still noticing the nature around me. There's still nature around. I intentionally walk through, it's this tiny little pocket park, but I intentionally walk through that park. I notice all of the nature around me, and even after my city walks or whatever, I still have some of my most creative ideas.

CORAL OWEN: Yeah, it's not uncommon, Jess at all. [00:09:00] It is really something that when we're trying to force something, or just, you know, staring at the screen, you know, or even pen to paper, just waiting for something to come along. Sometimes we just need to kind of break out of that groove and just go do something different.

And these moments of awe can really kind of allow that creativity to come back in. And it really does soften the edges of, “I have to figure this out,” and lets those insights kind of emerge more naturally.

All right, so something that we alluded to earlier is that having a community element can really just lift this to a whole new level. And Dr. Keith Tidball, whose research we talked about earlier, his research on urgent biophilia, it does show that communities often do turn to nature after disruption or stress.

In his work in particular, after natural disasters such as hurricanes, et cetera, and initiatives such as planting trees, starting gardens, [00:10:00] cleaning rivers, awe is a way to restore both the land and the spirit. And when we share awe, we don't just restore ourselves, we also help restore one another.

So to move forward with this incredible realization, as a practice, here are just a few suggestions that you might try to invite community into your awe practice. You could invite a friend for a sunrise walk or an evening sky watch. I think there are some astronomy clubs, Jess, that you -

JESSICA BECKENDORF: I just joined one right before we recorded. I was telling Coral how I just joined an astronomy club and, it's pretty nice to not be alone in, you know, as alone as I love to be in the quiet of the night sky, it's nice to not be alone.

CORAL OWEN: That sounds really fun actually. A couple other ideas you might share: A “wow” photo or a wonder photo from your week in a group chat or a team [00:11:00] space. 

For teams that I've worked on previously, we've used Slack and, you know, I just might be like, “Hey, this was for my coffee walk this morning,” and everybody kind of chimes in with theirs. Kind of fun. 

Other ideas for consideration? Perhaps volunteering at a local park cleanup, beach cleanup, community garden or environmental project. And the thought here is that these shared moments build connection, purpose, and resilience, and it really is just such a powerful antidote to burnout's isolation.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah, it's beautiful how something as simple as noticing nature can ripple outward from calming one person's nervous system to strengthening a whole community.

CORAL OWEN: That really is the heart of it. Awe helps us connect with ourself, but it also connects us to creativity and to one another as well.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Thanks so much for sharing that, Coral. As we wrap up today, maybe you'll find a moment, even just a few seconds, to look up at the sky, feel the [00:12:00] air on your skin, or notice the color of the leaves where you are. Those small pauses have the power to shift your whole day.

CORAL OWEN: Exactly. In awe, it doesn't demand more of our time, like Jess already said. All it's doing is asking for our attention, and then in that attention we can often discover a little wonder, a little spaciousness, and perhaps even a spark of inspiration we maybe even didn't know that we'd lost.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Well, thanks so much for spending part of your day with us here on Practicing Connection. If this conversation resonated with you, we'd love for you to share it with someone who might need that gentle reminder to step outside and breathe. 

We will be back next week with another episode. Until then, keep practicing. [00:13:00]

CREDITS: The Practicing Connection Podcast is a production of One-Off and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award number 2 0 2 3 4 8 7 74 3 3.