Post #1588729
2026-04-12 07:12 UTC
@therealahall This is such a fantastic article, and captures SO MANY of the things I was feeling this past week!
I like this part about awe. It's something I've been trying to center in my own fiction, for reasons given here -- that I didn't even know were true until I read this:
"Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson’s research tells us that emotions like awe and wonder do not just feel good in the moment. They literally broaden our thinking and build long-term psychological resilience. People who regularly experience awe are more creative, more connected, and less susceptible to the feeling that everything is about to fall apart. Awe is a biological reset button, and four humans went to the moon and pushed it for all of us, and your body knew what to do with that before you maybe had words for it."
Replies (1)
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@valentine@flickering.style 2026-04-12 07:13
@therealahall And this: "Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Humans have survived sub zero temperatures, plagues, and every catastrophe a universe indifferent to our survival could produce. We have also painted caves, written symphonies, and this week sent a NICU nurse’s husband to the moon, where he named a crater after her and cried while his crewmates held him. That is the species. That is what we actually are when we are trying." 🥺