The Hounds of Hurry and the Antidote of Awe
“To learn that art of being is to become free of the burden of strategy, purpose and self-consciousness. God dwells totally in fluency of presence.”
— John O’Donohue
Helllllloooo Practitioners,
Fluency of presence … can you imagine it? I imagine it being slow, and not slopping-through-mud slow but graceful-like-a-swan slow. Savoring-something-delicious slow. And I wish I did that more often. I have an ugly habit of walking around while eating…. which brings me to my next question… Why is it so hard to slow down? Especially when it's really needed? Do you have these moments? You’re fatigued but frazzled. Unable to focus, utterly distracted, and yet nagged by an undercurrent of urgency to do…. Something…. So you keep looking at your phone… Checking this or that. Scrolling. Shopping. But not buying! Just window shopping. Online. Forever. It’s twisted.
I’ve named this underlying urge to go, go, go, do, do, do the “Hounds of Hurry” because it feels like hustle is always nipping at your heels. Even when you’ve got the time and space to take a break, you can’t shake the sense that the hounds have your scent. At any moment they could catch you, overwhelm you.
Like the Monster of More, the Hounds of Hurry are fed by modern society. Bred on the theory of productivity. And when we push back, it can feel life-threatening. Maybe that sounds a little dramatic, but take a break or a nap in the middle of the day and see what happens. Better yet, take an Aussie-style 4 week vacation. My sister lives in Australia so I know real life people do this. AND at the thought of 4-weeks off my mind says: IMPOSSIBLE! Then another part of me says, “ah-ha! The hounds have you right where they want you!”
There is good news for those of us who feel cornered by the Hounds of Hurry: according to research, throwing the Hounds off your scent doesn’t require a month vacation, a week of silent retreat meditation, or a career transition. It might be as simple as a walk. Yes, a walk. Especially if you consciously cross into curiosity, wonder, and AWE.
Bear with me as I ask you to recall the cliched scene in movies when someone is trying to throw hounds off their scent and they cross a creek or body of water. Similarly, when you’re in the mental/emotional/neuro-chemical cascade of anxiety/worry/striving/hustling (remember there is a biological component which is why mindset and willpower only get you so far) peace, joy, and sloooooooooow seem far, far way. You need something to get you across what might seem like an ocean of difference.
In the beginning, the strategy of curiosity, wonder, and awe may seem like a shabby raft. If you’re skeptical, I understand. The hounds are fast and fierce. But try it. You might find its actually a luxury liner to a sigh of relief and inner peace or a battle ship to personal power and inspired action.
Why would this work? What happens with curiosity, wonder, and awe? First, notice how they’re like steps:
Curiosity opens you to new possibilities.
Wonder is stepping into that curiosity, embarking on a new adventure or journey.
Awe is the experience of bigger-than-me-ness that puts things in perspective.
Together, they incrementally encourage you to feel and see the world differently. And yes, wonder and awe are often experienced in response to nature, sublime art, soul-stirring music or remarkable feats of humanity: the glory days of NASA, Amanda Gorman’s poem at Biden’s inauguration, Olympic victories.
But research says awe is also found in simplicity, the zen of a run, fireflies on a summer night, an electric sunset, the trickle of a winter stream in a creek that runs dry the rest of the year. The fingers of your small child, the smile of your spouse, the lines around your own eyes. The call of an old friend when you were just thinking about them, the joy of your dog every time you come in the door, the smell of coffee in the morning.
Remarkably, as soon as you start looking for it, awe is everywhere, and benefits only increase with exposure. In other words, you don't build up tolerance or see diminishing returns. Awe researcher Dachner Kelter says, “the more we practice awe, it seems, the richer it gets…” and “each burst of daily awe predicted greater well-being and curiosity weeks later.” He even goes as far as saying, “awe-inducing events may be one of the fastest and most powerful methods of personal change and growth.”
But the benefits of Awe extend beyond the personal, Dachner Kelter sees awe as having a ripple effect "...awe binds us to social collectives and enables us to act in more collaborative ways that enable strong groups..."
Other luminaries agree. Joseph Campbell says "awe is what moves us forward." And Duane Michals caught my breath with " gives us the curiosity to overcome our cowardice."
Best news yet… “ common source of awe is just … taking a walk. In her cultural history of walking, Wanderlust, Rebecca Solnit theorized that walks can produce an awe-like form of consciousness in which we extend the self into the environment.”
Next time you feel the Hounds of Hurry nipping at your heels, urging you to go, go, go, do, do, do even though your body is begging for a break, your heart is heavy, or your soul is weary, you can walk it off. Or put on music. Or look around you with curiosity. Find something, anything, to evoke wonder and you can cross over into awe.
Despite the fact that I’m ardently and passionately writing this, I consider myself an awe-novice. I have a brain that looks for problems. This has been rewarded by society and family. Add a dash of boot-strapping ethos, a pinch of rugged individualism, a scoop of Midwestern work ethic and you have a recipe for hyper-vigilence and over-thinking. Here’s a story to show how deep this runs and how long I’ve been chewing on it: In 2009, I was on a bus, traveling through the mountains near Mendoza, Argentina with a soul sister. Suddenly she exclaimed, “Ali! Look at the mountains! What do you see?” I looked up, shocked, I had been mulling over personal problems. I can’t remember what they were, which means they were as mundane and temporary as you might expect. But they were consuming me. I thought to myself, “I don’t know… I haven’t been looking…” In my shocked silence, she burst out with wonder: “I see faces! And stories! And symbols! It’s magical!”
It’s magical. And I was missing it. I was not fluent in the present. I was lost in translation, racing between past and future. I want to stop racing, hustling, hurrying. I want to slow down. I want to really see all the wonder around me. How about you?
This is an invitation to slow down. Yes, it will take courage. Resolve to walk while the world hustles. Strength to cross over from the shores of criticism and comparison into the vast open space of curiosity and wonder. But traveling in that land, you stumble into AWE.
May your practice take you to new places,
Alison
