Book excerpt: Awe. It is about wonder. About accessing the amazing to express reverence, admiration. Awe like this can show up in every aspect of our lives – even those we declare as not so great. When we can look at all aspects of our lives with this kind wonder and admiration, awe changes us. We are broken open by it. It forces us to rethink things. To tweak our behaviors and choices. To move toward things that matter. Psychologist Nicholas Humphrey says awe forces us to reconfigure our mental model so we can make sense of what we’ve seen and experienced. It broadens us, inspires us. Awe then, has the ability to awaken us. It can show us the beauty that already exists and remind us who we are at our spiritual core. It brings us closer to our purpose and passion and helps us create meaning. It helps us to live with the mystery in life, to survive the uncertainty of it all. It allows us to sink into the experience of living. To engage in it. To be touched by it. To participate rather than needing to manipulate, contrive, or control every moment, each experience. When you live in awe of your life you are open to diverse experiences. Some are easy peasy, comfortable and even joyous. Others totally suck. But you are okay because you know that within every experience the possibilities are limitless and experience is multi-dimensional. It is never just one thing. It is always more than bad or good. Polly Campbell designed this book to help you engage with the awesome qualities of your life. Do the exercises if you want – or not. Read this book chapter by chapter or go to the section that will help you most right now. Take what works, discard the rest. You will not be graded on how well you use this book. You won’t be judged. Living an Awesome Life isn’t about following a strict set of rules. It’s about living from your essence and using all that to catapult you into your best life. What that life looks like is up to you. You are the creator of your moments. They are shaped by what you believe, what you notice, how you behave. You get to choose. No matter who you are, what you’ve done, where you’ve been, what you’ve experienced and borne, the very next moment can be awesome. Seriously. Sounds a little woo-woo, I know, but this is totally doable. When you discover the awe in the now, it transforms the next moment and makes it more possible, a bit easier to bear. A bit more awesome. When you string together a whole batch of little awesome moments, you can create a big, fat awesome life. Starting now. From right here