I can be a bit of a soppy puppy.

Especially when it comes to watching films and TV.

Have you seen the movie Sully?  The scene where Tom Hanks crash lands a plane in the Hudson had me bawling my eyes out.

Clocked The Greatest Showman?  There’s one part where Hugh Jackman races into a burning building while his wife, kids and a rabble of onlookers watch on in horror.

That had me blubbing too!

It’s not even dramatic, life & death scenes which get me going.

Another show which has me sobbing away like clockwork?

That well-known tearjerker Masterchef.

I always find myself welling up at the end of the episodes.  

Not because Pamela’s pistachio souffle didn’t rise in the oven or because Roberto burnt his rack of lamb.

But because the contestants live and breathe food (it’s their world, really) and for many of them, getting to the next round is a dream come true.  And seeing these dreams being made and dashed in an instant seems to get me weeping.

So what links Sully, The Greatest Showman and Masterchef?

I’d put it like this:

People summoning all the bravery and courage they can muster to tap into and act on the truest essence of who they are.

It's awe-inspiring.  

I find it awesome to watch, in every sense of the word.

And I don’t think awe is an emotion which gets much airtime. 

It’s not like love, happiness, worry or stress.  These emotions have been written about by everyone from Greek scholars to medieval poets to modern day Substack philosophers.

But in this email, I’m giving awe it’s moment in the sun.  

It’s one of the coolest emotions there is.

And, in my experience, awe acts like a kind of portal.

Awe can bypass the layers of programming we pick up as we go through life and take us back to the person who lies underneath all that. 

When I'm in awe, even for just a few seconds, it comes with an amazing sense of aliveness & possibility.  

Plus I know I’m getting back in touch with the real me.  

To my mind, this is why awe is one of the coolest emotions out there.  

And why awe is an experience to seek out wherever we can.

On a somewhat related note:

I've found coaching to be another reliable way to find that same sense of aliveness & possibility.  

You could say it’s a place where aliveness and possibilities flourish.

If you’re curious:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

- Tom