AweGust

An antidote to Seasonal Affective Disorder

Summer is a notoriously difficult season for me. While most experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in the winter months, I experience it during the summer months.

July felt, in a word, depleting.

Mentally.

Emotionally.

Activities that used to replenish me didn’t hit the same way. My sleep quality declined. I had trouble focusing. I felt like I was constantly under a weighted blanket (and not in a good way).

Every day a slog. Every day these feelings of overwhelm compounding on top of each other.

By the end of the month I was absolutely wiped. out.

Me, in summer.

Historically, my SAD peaks in August. Anticipating that what I felt in July was about to get even worse (and my natural tendency toward optimism, hope, and resilience seriously impaired), I hit the proverbial “Find My…” button.

Find me.

Enter: AweGust

Brilliantly concepted by Tami Carey, she created “AweGust” as the antidote to the anxiety she experiences around summer. She’s even created an entire virtual, self-paced camp (how fun!) around “nostalgic activities, imaginative challenges, and a general sense of lightness and playfulness that gives our brains a much needed break and helps us find our way back to ourselves.”

Like I said, brilliant!

I love this concept of AweGust and wanted to adopt and adapt it in my own way.

What is ‘awe’?

I learned about awe after listening to Krista Tippett’s interview with Dacher Keltner. Dacher Keltner, a professor at the University of California Berkeley, researches the experience of awe in human life.

He has defined awe as "The feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world."

This may take the form of dramatic, life-changing events like the birth of a child. Or seeing the Northern lights. Or maybe even experiencing your favorite artist perform live.

But it can also be found in everyday life, like witnessing an act of kindness or taking a walk in nature.

In his book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, he outlines the Eight Wonders of Life.

They are: Strength, courage, and kindness of others; collective movement in actions like dance and sport; nature; music; art and visual design; mystical encounters; encountering life and death; and big ideas or epiphanies.

Awe brings us joy, community, and meaning, along with healthier bodies, and more creative minds.

What's fascinating is that moments of awe bring our nervous system and heartbeat and breath into sync — and even into sync with other bodies around us (!)

I was so struck by this concept of awe, that I included a journal prompt about it in my signature journaling workshop, Journaling for Self-Illumination. It has since become one of my favorite prompts to share.

Dr. Keltner says that awe is everywhere.

And it can be.

Cleo Wade, one of my favorite poets, goes on daily awe walks. She notices flowers and clouds, and the changes of the leaves in the trees. If you're in a big city, maybe you can notice the people, shops, colors, and sounds.

We all get hijacked. By technology, stress, anxiety, sadness, fatigue… even seasonal depression. Connecting to awe, noticing it, connects you back to yourself and your human experience.

Experiencing awe

In order to see something, you need to know what you’re looking for; where to point your antennas.

To experience more awe, I’m actively looking for it and collecting awe-inducing moments like shiny pennies from the universe:

💫 A nurse who showed me so much gentleness, compassion, and kindness during a recent doctor’s visit.

💫 Watching this video of Coldplay performing “A Sky Full of Stars” at Glastonbury. I get *chills* watching it.

💫 The simple poetry of Zach Bryan’s song Pink Skies.

💫 Celine Dion singing atop the Eiffel Tower.

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When was the last time you experienced awe? Maybe write about it next time you journal, or if you’re inclined, share it in the comments. Let’s connect over it. 💗