When Was the Last Time You Noticed Anything Strange?

Pic ID: From Kathryn and Ross Petras' book 'Don't Forget to Sing in the Lifeboats'

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Strange things are everywhere. And always.

They simply are.

Noticing them gives us that quirky feeling we get which, often, we describe as 'surprised'.

'Surprised' is of the same family as AWE; just not as loud and not always as breathtaking.

Nevertheless, as both feelings are of the same family, 'surprised' might just turn into awe if we pause to sit with it. It will do the work itself; we don't have to do anything else other than let it.

AWE is very good for us.

It's been contemplated and studied and found to be good for our emotional, spiritual and psychological wellbeing (Jiang, 2024; Monroy, 2023; Monroy, 2025).

The only thing we have to do a little work for is RE-LEARNING TO NOTICE the strange things around us.

I capitalise 'RE-RELEARNING' because it is exactly what it is; it isn't a new learning.

We were really good at it as children.

Before the world told us that getting excited over strange things wasn't good looks and wasn't a 'productive activity' in adulting. And then we took this on as if it's some universal truth.

And while un-learning to re-learn may sometimes be more difficult and take longer than learning anew, what it has going for it is that we have already experienced that feeling of being open to noticing and the feeling we get WHEN we notice the strange things.

The extraordinary ordinary all around us.

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I wish you all to notice something strange today.

And then every day after that.

References:

Jiang, T., Hicks, J. A., Yuan, W., Yin, Y., Needy, L., & Vess, M. (2024). The unique nature and psychosocial implications of awe. Nature Reviews Psychology, 3(7), 475-488.

Monroy, M., & Keltner, D. (2023). Awe as a pathway to mental and physical health. Perspectives on psychological science, 18(2), 309-320.

Monroy, M., Amster, M., Eagle, J., Zerwas, F. K., Keltner, D., & López, J. E. (2025). Awe reduces depressive symptoms and improves well-being in a randomized-controlled clinical trial. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 16453.