Welcome to Written Bird!

An exploration of accessible everyday awe in nature.

If you are getting this newsletter, it is because you are subscribed to my past newsletter (Birds, Words, & Inspiration) or have subscribed through my website. I hope you will join me for the Written Bird, but I understand if you want to opt out --  thank you for following me in the past! I hope you will stay, though, and read on to find out what I’ll be writing to you about weekly.

I am currently working on a book called, The Field Guide to Awe and every Sunday morning, I will be sharing a micro-essay, research I’ve encountered, and a simple exercise that has helped me and others discover awe through nature and art. Oh. And there’s likely to be birds because when isn’t there with me? I hope that you’ll stick with me and get a bit of encouragement to find your own moments of awe.

In a time rife with feelings of loneliness, powerlessness, and fear, the pursuit of awe is a balm that can change lives. Experiences of awe move us from a place of self-centered anxiety and isolation to one where we feel deeply connected to a vast and welcoming whole. Nature is a particularly prominent elicitor of awe, but the experience does not require a first trip to the Grand Canyon or to see the northern lights.

Awe can be found in a drop of morning dew on a maple leaf when it mirrors the canopy above or in a hummingbird pausing its frenetic feeding to hover nearly beak-to-nose with a gardener for a momentary communion. Awe is the one emotion that could bring the world back together and back into balance. Seeking and making room for awe can ease the pervasive hardships of modern isolation in a time when the Surgeon General has declared loneliness and isolation a public health crisis. If you are struggling (And who isn’t struggling right now?) embracing everyday awe can make a difference.

I’m currently running my first Beta group to share the stories and work through the exercises I’m writing for A Field Guide to Awe. I plan to continue to run what I’m calling Nature of Awe Explorers Groups throughout the next year. So, I’ll cherry pick the exercises to share on my newsletter along with essays on what it means to connect with nature and each other.

I hope you’ll still be here when I send out the first of my letters this Sunday!

x Rebecca