Awe, Wonder & Wild Animals

I once read an article in the Huffington Post called “Americans May Be Getting Less Religious, But They’re Feeling More Wonder” (1/26/2016), and it defined “awe” as:

[Having an] encounter [that] is so expansive and mind blowing that it nudges you to change the way you process the world.

For me, there are few things which can inspire awe and wonder as quickly and reliably as being in the presence of wild animals.

 

Just seeing them causes my jaw to drop, my eyes to widen, and all the usual chitter-chatter of my mind seems to just mysteriously disappear.

I know I’m not alone in this, hence the popularity of places like The Bronx Zoo in New York and Animal Kingdom in Florida, but I must say I am curiously surprised at the profound effect these magnificent animals have on me when I am fortunate enough to have an encounter with them in one of these controlled settings.

I think it is because, when I am looking with amazement at these live wild animals,  I find my hyper-active use of intellectualizing, both as an endeavor and a defense mechanism, seems to get over-ridden; it’s like the effect of these animals on me is actually much more emotional and physiological than cognitive, leaving me with a feeling of my heart swelling with admiration and inspiration.

I know there is much debate about what to call these types of moments in our lives. 

Some call it mindfulness. Others call it flow. And still others call it spirituality. 

I say, call it whatever you want, but for heaven’s sake, notice it when it is happening.

The 20^th century theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1875-1955) is often quoted as saying in 1930:

The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science.  He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed out candle. 

These nearly century-old words have deep resonance for me because I truly do feel more alive in my own body when I bear witness to the wildness of these animals, and for this reason, it is a pantheistic experience to witness the majesty of a live gorilla, tiger, giraffe, or an elephant because I do sense the encounter as a portal in to god or the universe of which I am an itsy-bitsy, yet significant part.

Below I have included some photos I’ve taken in the past couple of years of these wild animals that I like to look at time and again when I am having a bout of feeling disconnected, or what Albert Einstein called “snuffed out.”  

[Please note, I know it would always be better for these animals to live freely in their own habitats…]