Awesome

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with the Gentleman Builder, Young Padawan and Little Miss at the beach over the weekend.  It was a glorious winter afternoon.  The sun was shining, there was no wind and the air had the first hints of spring.  It was purely awesome.

There are few things in life that take my breath away but the ocean is one.  There's something awe inspiring about the expanse of space and the consistency of the waves.  I love the beach in winter for the space and the lack of crowds. 

A starry night involkes similar feelings of awe for me as does a forest.  In fact, a view across a forest overlooking the ocean is the pinacle of awesomeness for me. 

This had me thinking about the effect of moment of awe on my perspective of life.  Everything feels better and looks brighter after an experience like this.  It would appear that I am not the only one - a little research shows that moments of awe actually have the effect of time slowing down and alters people's mental state.  I guess that's why people flock to the beach and why real estate is more expensive when equipped with an ocean view.