The Problem with Awe
It’s a strange expression , if you slow to a stop and think through the words, ‘took my breath away’ it seems to have two meanings; something utterly shocking or beautiful that causes you to gasp – to breathe in, or to suddenly exhale. Does anyone travel through life without having a few such moments? It seems unlikely. I’ve had a few. One was a piece of music on a Radio 4 programme I was listening to whilst driving. It was so beautiful I had to stop, it wasn’t safe to continue through a blur of tears. Or a beautiful woman I had the honour of meeting and knowing. My socks were truly blown clean off and away. And two paintings. One, as far as I know, is still in the Bristol Museum, and the other (a relatively inexpensive print, not, alas, the original) hangs in my house. Both made me stand and stare. Then there’s mist in the hollows on an autumnal morning, a sunset across the ocean, the crash of a wave on shingle beach, or the particular blue of a cold January sky…I could go ...