Welcome back, I hope you had a fun and restful break. For my part, I napped a little less than I had hoped and ate more than I probably should have. Read a few books (none of which were about politics), watched Stranger Things, and spent time with friends and family. Now back at it.
One of my goals for the new year is to seek out awe more. Toward the end of last semester I attended a CCAS Dean's Conversation talk on astronomy. Three GW professors talked about the work they are doing to explore the edges of our universe and our place in it. It was a good reminder that while we are at the center of our own universe, the actual universe is vast and we’re at the edge of it.
A lot of us are at GW - and specifically in SMPA - because GW and SMPA are in the middle of politics and policy. We study and work in the eye of a hurricane. We put ourselves in the middle of political and policy debates that storm around us. That can be pretty cool. But it can also be distorting and bad for our mental health. What we study and do here in SMPA matters. But it’s not all that matters.
There is an emerging science of awe. Researchers are learning that awe is good for our well being. One finding is that awe isn’t just found in contemplating the cosmos, it can also be found in the “simple act of witnessing the goodness of others.” Awe takes us out of ourselves. It connects our actions to something beyond our moment. Awe connects us to each other in ways nothing else can.
Join me this spring in looking beyond the immediate and into the cosmos. Go to Dean’s talks (next up: bugs and bacteria), see acts of goodness, wonder at the marvel that we are able to have this conversation at all.