How Awe Helps You Navigate Life's Challenges

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Science, Social Sciences

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We explore how embracing awe can uplift caregivers, providing tools to nurture themselves while nurturing others.

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Summary: This week on The Science of Happiness, we explore how moments of awe can transform caregiving. By incorporating awe through music, nature, and shared experiences, Noam Osband and Devora Keller found ways to refresh themselves and foster connection within their two young children. Their stories illuminate the impact of awe on parenting and caretaking, and the importance of intentionally cultivating wonder to enhance caregiving and strengthen bonds.

This episode was supported by the Van Leer Foundation, an independent Dutch organisation working globally to foster inclusive societies where all children and communities can flourish.

To discover more insights from Van Leer Foundation and others on this topic, visit Early Childhood Matters, the leading platform for advancing topics on early childhood development and connecting diverse voices and ideas across disciplines that support the wellbeing of babies, toddlers and caregivers around the globe.

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:
The Science of Awe (3 episode series): https://tinyurl.com/3jz8rnev
Are You Following Your Inner Compass: https://tinyurl.com/y2bh8vvj
The Healing Effects of Experiencing Wildlife: https://tinyurl.com/bde5av4z
The Value of Variety and Novelty: https://tinyurl.com/3rm58m3e

Related Happiness Breaks:
A Walking Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/mwbsen7a
A Meditation on Becoming a Gift to Life: https://tinyurl.com/3et7rz4p

Today’s Guests:

NOAM OSBAND is a radio producer and anthropologist whose work explores themes of culture, identity, and human connection.
DEVORA KELLER is a physician with a decade of experience building and leading transitional care programs in the safety net. She is board certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine.

Tell us about your experiences and struggles with compassionate listening. Email us at [email protected] or follow on Instagram @ScienceOfHappinessPod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2466rnm4

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is supported by the Van Lear Foundation, a global organization committed to supporting young children and communities to flourish.
0:13.0	My son has been interested in birds lately, and he was asking me about, like, which direction south is, because he wanted to know which way the birds might be moving.
0:24.6	So we did two nights of movie watching with the kids. One night we watched the movie Winged Migration,
0:27.2	which is a 20-year-old documentary about birds migrating.
0:30.6	What is that said?
0:32.3	The bar-headed goose lies 1,500 miles from India
0:36.4	to the Central Asian Steps.
0:38.3	And then the next day we watched movies about volcanoes, which he also has been really interested in.
0:46.3	Lava shoots out like a fiery fountain.
0:49.3	When Strangoli erupts like this, big lots of lava and still can be like a waterfall. And in the lava and the lava shoots up and
0:57.0	and then the lava comes down after all that and after
1:01.0	and after
1:02.0	and both nights there were moments where I heard each child
1:07.0	sort of under their breath saying things like, wow, or amazing.
1:13.4	What was striking to me was in watching these videos,
1:15.6	it was the first time that I could think of
1:17.4	that we were all watching something together
1:19.6	and all really in it together.
1:22.5	Wow.
1:23.7	Wow!
1:24.2	Wow!
1:32.3	The Wow. Welcome to the Science of Happiness. I'm Dacker-Kildner.
	...

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