The Awe-Seeker’s Guide to Travel
How Travel Sparks Wonder, Well-Being, and Changes How We See the World
Last month in Well Happy Thrive, we explored joy — how it shows up in ordinary moments, how it restores us, how it connects us to what matters most, and how it can help make the world a better place.
This month, we turn to travel, not just as a means of escape, but as a path to insight, connection, and delight.
August’s Editorial Theme: Meaningful Travel
To reconnect, rest, and renew — to play, to pause, and to be transformed by awe.
Through place, perspective, presence, and people.
To delight in beauty. To welcome discovery.
Introducing: The Awe-Seeker’s Guide to Travel
A new series exploring awe, wonder, and the beauty of meaningful travel.
Because awe changes us. It expands perception. It reduces stress, lowers inflammation, and increases life satisfaction. And it reminds us, in the best way, that we’re part of something larger.
Awe doesn’t require luxury or distance. It can arise while hiking through mist, stargazing in silence, or watching sunlight transform a familiar city street.
“If you think of feelings you have when you are awed by something — for example, knowing that elements in your body trace to exploded stars — I call that a spiritual reaction, speaking of awe and majesty, where words fail you.” - Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Science of Awe and How to Cultivate It
🧠 In this feature I wrote for Templeton Ideas, you’ll find insights from Yale’s Dr. Laurie Santos of The Happiness Lab and UC Berkeley’s Dr. Dacher Keltner of The Great Good Science Center, along with practical ways to bring more awe into your next journey, or your everyday life.
In Keltner’s book, Awe, based on research in 26 countries, he identified eight awe-inducing Wonders of Life:
Moral Beauty (e.g., simple everyday acts that inspire awe in those who witness them, solidarity across divides, a stranger risking their life to help others, etc.)
Collective Effervescence (e.g., singing in unison at a concert)
Nature
Music
Visual Art
Spirituality
Mortality (birth and death)
Epiphanies (big ideas)
📖 Read the full story: The Awe-Seeker’s Guide to Travel (Templeton Ideas)
It explores:
What awe is, and how it shapes our well-being
How attention elicits awe
How to design “vastness moments” that shift your perspective
Simple strategies to make travel more meaningful, not just more eventful
Tips to Make Your Travels More Awe-Inspiring:
Plan a “vastness moment.” (Visit the city’s highest overlook. Take a boat ride at dusk. Watch a coastline, canyon, or mountain range at rest.)
Schedule sunrise (or sunset) with intention.
Seek beauty.
Admire human achievement. (Marvel at architecture, observatories, or design.)
Linger at a sacred site.
Say yes to what’s new.
Find collective joy. (Dance at the wedding. Sing karaoke. Roar with a stadium crowd.)
Feel small (in a good way). (Stargaze. Visit ancient ruins.)
Immerse yourself in nature.
Witness a moment of moral beauty. (A kind gesture. A rebuilt community. A story that moves you.)
End each day with reflection. Ask: What amazed me today?
Make space. Awe needs room. Don’t overschedule. Let the magic in.
A Personal Note
Some of the most awe-inspiring experiences I’ve had were planned, but some weren’t.
The photo above (I’m the one in black) was taken while hiking Sólheimajökull Glacier in Iceland — part of a journey that also included the Arctic Circle, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, which I wrote about for Fodor’s Travel.
Other memorable moments include helicoptering over Fiji, hiking through the Redwoods at dawn, and pausing under a star-filled sky beside a glowing campfire in Joshua Tree National Park. I still think about a shared moment of connection, mutual understanding, and laughter with a street vendor in China, even though we didn’t speak the same language.
What made those moments stay with me wasn’t just the place. It was the presence, the people, and the connection. I’ve had some of my most profound moments of awe simply watching a sunset on a Midwestern lake.
What’s Next in The Awe-Seeker’s Guide to Travel
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing original stories on:
Solo travel as a way to reconnect with clarity and confidence
Glamping and the role of beauty, comfort, and design in nature
And other explorations of travel as a path to awe.
What’s the most awe-filled place you’ve ever visited? Or the most unexpected moment of wonder you’ve experienced while traveling?
Share in the comments, I’d love to know.
Maybe we’ll map our awe together.
With warmth and wonder,
Alene