I just completed the book, “Awe,” by Dacher Keltner, a heart-felt scientist who quantified what brings us into states of awestruck beauty and how being awestruck is good for us: increases dopamine, balances the nervous system, provides a more hopeful outlook—all kinds of beneficial qualities. He describes 8 kinds of awe and with a humble bow, I would like to add a 9th ~ Connection.
Have you ever connected from the heart with another being? Person, plant, animal….To me, it’s one of the greatest treasures of my life ~ the connection that runs like a shining silver cord between you and another. I have many people who give me the gift of heart connection and…one sweet, darling creature, sweet Benjamin Button AKA Bene:
Bene’s Homecoming Day 12/10/18
This sweet little creature found me at the Animal Shelter and would not get up off my lap. He sat there like a little Buddha, certain he was going home with me. He didn’t even seem to notice my husband, the cat magnet! After nearly a year long wait with no “pets” in the household, the kitty began to melt my heart. In spite of all this, I got up, turned from his affection and went back home because 1) I wasn’t sure I wanted a “clingy” cat and 2) he didn’t meet the criteria that was in my head after waiting over a year! I wanted a tiny fuzz ball kitten, not a full grown cat with issues.
However, once I got home, the sweet connection he stirred in me, pulled me closer, and I went back to the shelter the next evening. When I walked in the door, one of the angels there said, “We were hoping you would come back, he showed you the most interest of anybody since he’s been here.” No, really? Me! It might have been a line reserved for the unstruck, but it worked. So, home he came. We named him Benjamin Button, AKA Bene, because he was 9 pounds full grown, and looked like an adolescent kitten. We had just watched the creepy movie, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and the idea of aging backwards was in our heads.
So, five years have passed. Bene (short for Benevolent) loves me still and I, well, am equally lovestruck. He is NOT clingy, but enjoys laying across my heart, a few minutes, a few times a day, running to meet me when I arrive home, and generally purring and smurgeling at uncanny times when I’m in need. Alas, I digress from our topic of awe in the form of connection. When we meet a person or a creature that we are somehow inextricably tied, it gives our lives purpose and meaning. Some of my work takes me into an addiction treatment center each week, I see the power of common-goal connection. Folks who are there with one strong unifier--sobriety, not just the clients but the staff and trainees. Everyone is moving toward a common aspiration and that's a powerful force of awe.
Have you ever been awestruck by the connection felt between you and a creature? Plant? Person? Community? What’s it like for you? Can you recreate the feeling in your body and mind? Can we cultivate and grow our connections to others every day? This force of love is a reminder of a miraculous quality of our hearts ~ connecting to another. May you find awe today in the birds of the air, the stars in the sky, the people and communities that surround you. May you be awestruck.
*Recovery Community Online Thursdays 7:45a-8:45a. Zoom Lotuses in the Mud Recovery Family
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*Recovery Community Online Thursdays 7:45a-8:45a. Zoom Lotuses in the Mud Recovery Family
