While I was home visiting family we went for a long walk in the Warwickshire countryside.
My brother led us through some thick woods then down a shadowy footpath.
But as we emerged into the sunlight the view took my breath away.
We were high up on Sun Rising Hill gazing across a vast valley to a distant horizon as threatening clouds rolled in.
And it was simply awe-inspiring.
Like many people I’ve walked much more during lockdown and always feel better for it.
Exercise releases endorphins – our feelgood hormones – and fresh air blows the cobwebs away. But I’d never realised that a gasp-inducing landscape can actually boost our emotional wellbeing.
What is your view? Have your say in the comments below
Or that we should be taking a weekly “awe walk” to maintain a healthy sense of self. Scientists in San Francisco recruited two sets of walkers to study the power of awe – a complex emotion that can be tinged with fear or surprise as well as pleasure.
One group was asked simply to take a regular stroll while the others were told to seek out new places of physical vastness or beauty.
Both were asked to take selfies at the beginning, middle and end of their walks.
Now, I’m sure they all said “Awesome!” in that irritating Californian way, and welcomed going on a “journey” but the findings were really interesting.
The first group did more, shorter walks, during which they thought about work, shopping, or their holidays, and felt no change emotionally.
Yet the awe-seekers reported increased feelings of wonder, gratitude and compassion and a new perspective on their place in the world.
And when the photos were compared, the awe group’s featured more landscape and less of them, but with bigger smiles than the first group.
“Awe can be found almost anywhere,” said lead researcher Virginia Sturm. “But it is more likely to occur in places that involve physical vastness and novelty.
“And a very simple intervention – a reminder to occasionally shift our energy and attention outward instead of inward – can lead to significant improvements in emotional wellbeing.”
We are facing many more months of pandemic uncertainty and the path seems dark and frightening.
But a regular awe walk really can help to put everything into perspective.
And remind us that the sun will rise again, however distant the horizon.
