A Documentary that Sparks Awe
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”
Albert Einstein
As you may remember from my ‘Experience with Earthing’ blog, my husband and I scour our streaming subscriptions for inspiring nature-based documentaries as if digging to the bottom of a DVD discount bin at Blockbuster hoping for a gem someone else missed in their buying frenzy.
Frankly, there’s an unprecedented number of energy-draining content in TV/ Movies. To me, this includes and is not limited to people cheating on each other, crime, overt sexuality, backstabbing, greed, etc. Science has proven movies have a lasting emotional effect.
That said, many of us go through some of these experiences, recover, and use our newfound wisdom to help others. But when TV characters don’t progress or gain any self-awareness, the viewer is left to recall their depressing memories.
Instead, if a show affirms core values and leaves the viewer inspired and determined to course-correct, or, at the very least, gives us a pleasant respite from daily troubles without sensationalized clips that produce a dopamine overdose, we have the fuel needed to keep a positive perspective.
‘Operation Artic Cure’ (2024) on Disney was a treat to watch, though the topic of nature as a healing source isn’t new to me.
Here’s a short Synopsis of the film:
‘War reporter Bob Woodruff leads veterans across an arctic wilderness to test whether awe-inspiring experiences can heal their trauma and stress.’ - Disney
The director uses the word ‘awe’ to describe a feeling one may have from inspiring experiences in nature and how that feeling can allow us to transcend mental anguish.
Oxford Dictionary defines ‘awe’ as a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder. In this documentary, veterans are face to face with the northern lights, high mountain peaks, epic sunsets, and sunrises.
Not surprisingly, immersed in beauty and working toward a common goal, the participants experience greater calm and peace as their parasympathetic nervous systems kick in. One particularly troubled man gets a much-needed break from tormenting PTSD.
HSS says, ‘There are many ways to practice using your parasympathetic nervous system. These include mild exercise, meditation, yoga, deep breathing from your diaphragm, even nature walks.
At the risk of sounding colloquial… nature is miraculous.
Whether it’s a herb that can lessen constipation, improve breathing, or heal physical disease completely, fruits and veggies that feed our cells and ‘awaken sattvic qualities’ (more on that another time), or oxygen produced by trees that give the body life, every aspect of nature tends to us, like a caring physician.
Why wouldn’t nature be able to also heal the mind from suffering? It’s worth pondering, isn’t it?
But what gives nature healing power? I believe there is an intelligent creator who knows us intimately and whose designed this planet to fulfill our every need with precision.
What I enjoyed most about the documentary is the reminder to ‘wonder’ by immersing ourselves in nature’s surroundings. Thousand-year-old rock formations, waves of orange, red, and yellow ultraviolet sunlight, and flowing ribbons of green, blue, and purple light in the night sky are like postcards from another world, calling us back to a forgotten part of ourselves.
These transcendent experiences allow us to access a part of the brain that is scientifically proven to calm the nervous system, thereby reducing our trauma and stress response.
In my experience, ‘awe’ is an inner state that can be replicated- though to a lesser degree, every time we recall the experience. Also, as a long-time journaler, I’ve discovered that listing the things I’m grateful for awakens awe.
‘Gratitude lists’ became popular back in the day when Oprah shared her daily practice.
And, there’s good news, we don’t need to look at something epic to experience the healing release of our parasympathetic nervous system.
We can breathe deeply, walk by the ocean, and talk kinder to ourselves to start thinking and subsequently, feeling better.
June Beauty!