Last winter I started this series: Awestruck. Inspired by Dacher Keltner and his research on awe and wonder, and his advice that actively seeking out the moments in your life where you feel awe can change your life, I began to examine times in my life I had felt awe.
Since I’ve been looking for it, I’ve found it more and more, in the big things and the little things. It’s akin to a mindfulness practice, or a gratitude acknowledgement. I highly recommend that you do the same.
The experience of feeling awe and wonder manifests in different ways, whether it be physical or emotional, and I’ve found that two different experiences have the ability to tap into different parts of that spectrum. Dacher Keltner, founder of the field of study of awe and wonder, is a big proponent of the idea that both the big moments and the smaller, more mundane experiences can both inspire awe, and change your life.
Whether you’re feeling awe witnessing a moment of moral beauty, participating in collective movement, spending time in nature, listening to music, looking on powerful visual design, engaging in moments of spirituality or religion, witnessing the beginning or the end of life, or having a moment of epiphany, all of it can help make you feel happier, more hopeful, and more glad to be alive.
IV. Birthdays, engagement celebrations, etc. Portland, Oregon
There’s a restaurant on Alberta Street (they also have a downtown location!) called DarSalam, and it’s a little piece of paradise. They’re authentic Iraqi cuisine, and my favorite restaurant.
My family had first discovered the restaurant through my older sister’s fourth grade teacher and her family connections to the place. We’d been a few times when I was younger, but we didn’t begin to be frequent diners until when I was in eighth grade, when I wanted to go out for dinner on my birthday. The problem was I had no idea where to go. In an inspired moment, my mom remembered a restaurant we hadn’t been to in years—DarSalam. We went that day, and now we go back every year for my birthday, my mom’s birthday, to celebrate the last day of school. It’s been the celebration ground of all the important events in my family for the last four years.
The staff are so kind and attentive, and the ambience is lovely, all soft light and shiny decor. Every time I go, I get the exact same thing because it’s just that good. The shredded chicken rice plate and a mango nectar are my go-tos, but my holy grail is the hummus.
That hummus is the source of the awe in this story. Every time I have it I can barely stop commenting on how good it is. The hummus at DarSalam is consistently one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Paired with their pita, I could eat only that for the rest of my life and be happy. The hummus is super smooth, drizzled with just the right amount of olive oil and bursting with flavor, it just melts in your mouth. Complimented by the soft, warm, pliable pita, it’s downright delectable.
This installment reads a little differently than the first three parts of this series, and it’s because nothing has consistently made me feel awe like this hummus. It might sound silly to say that a food could inspire feelings that are so all encompassing, because everyone has a food they love, and that doesn’t have to mean it means anything else, but it does for me. I know because when I’m scooping up this blend of chickpeas and tahini with a piece of flatbread I’ve torn off from what the table is sharing, I feel the same thing that I did walking around on Alcatraz. Something unexplainable, but so moving that you can’t help but try.
The hummus from DarSalam is so good it’s awe-inspiring, and if you’ve never tried it, you definitely should.
In an interview with Laura Smith for California Magazine, “Dacher Keltner is awe-inspired, and you should be too,” he tells us that when he is teaching about awe, he tells his students, “‘Go find awe when you’re young. It might be at a rave or backpacking or a meditation retreat or working in the prisons—whatever it is. Whatever you’re getting goosebumps about, tearing up about, that’s your life.’” This quote is the principle of why I write these articles. I want to encourage everyone to be living their life to the fullest, to be trying and experiencing new things, and to look out for the moments that feel a little extra special.
