By Lydia™@Lydia.com

There is a curious habit many of us share.

We assume that life's most meaningful moments will be dramatic.

A promotion.

A holiday.

A wedding.

A new home.

Something worth photographing.

But when people look back on their lives, the memories that often stay with them are surprisingly ordinary.

Morning sunlight spilling across the kitchen table.

A grandchild laughing unexpectedly.

The first cool breeze after a long summer.

A conversation that lasted longer than either person intended.

Psychologists have a word for many of these experiences.

They call it awe.

Not because the moments are spectacular.

Because, for a brief instant, they make the world feel larger than ourselves.

Awe isn't only found in mountains

When most of us hear the word "awe," we imagine standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon or watching the Northern Lights.

Those experiences certainly count.

But researchers now believe awe appears much more often.

It can arrive through music.

Art.

Nature.

Acts of kindness.

A beautiful piece of writing.

Even watching someone display extraordinary courage.

The common thread is not the event itself.

It is the feeling that we have briefly stepped outside our usual concerns.

Why does this matter?

Loneliness has become one of the defining public-health concerns of our time.

Most discussions focus on making more friends or spending more time with other people.

Those things matter.

But recent research suggests another possibility.

People who regularly experienced moments of awe also tended to report feeling less lonely. Researchers are still exploring why, so this should not be interpreted as proof that awe causes lower loneliness. Even so, the association is intriguing and deserves further study.

Perhaps awe gently reminds us that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

The good news is that awe costs nothing

Unlike many wellness trends, awe cannot be bought.

It asks only for attention.

A walk beneath old trees.

Listening carefully to your favourite piece of music.

Watching birds gather before sunset.

Reading a poem slowly instead of quickly.

Looking up.

Really looking.

Many of us rush through these moments because they seem too ordinary to matter.

Science is beginning to suggest they may matter more than we realised.

A different way of measuring a good day

We often judge our days by what we achieved.

The emails answered.

The errands completed.

The meetings survived.

Useful things.

Necessary things.

But perhaps another question is worth asking.

Did anything today make me pause?

Did something, however briefly, remind me that the world is more beautiful, more interesting or more mysterious than I had noticed yesterday?

Those moments may last only seconds.

Yet they have a curious way of staying with us.

A quiet invitation

Perhaps the richest life is not the one filled with extraordinary experiences.

Perhaps it is the one that becomes increasingly able to recognise the extraordinary hidden inside ordinary days.

A child asking an unexpected question.

Rain against the window.

Fresh bread cooling on the kitchen bench.

The laughter of friends around a coffee table.

None of these moments asks to become a headline.

Yet together, they quietly become a life.

Research & Sources

Primary Sources

• Ugurlu Ö, Zerwas F, Monroy M, et al. Experiencing Awe in Daily Life Is Linked to Lower Loneliness. Scientific Reports (2026).
• Dacher Keltner and colleagues, University of California, Berkeley, research on awe and wellbeing.
• Recent randomized controlled research on awe and mental health.

Editorial Disclaimer

This article was independently researched and written by the Lydia.com Editorial Team. It is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, psychological or professional advice. Lydia.com seeks to rely on peer-reviewed research, respected academic institutions and established public-interest sources wherever possible. Scientific understanding evolves over time, and readers are encouraged to consult appropriately qualified professionals regarding their own circumstances.