And, of course, you might logically say this is much easier to do when you’re staring out at the beautiful Pacific Ocean, or you have the solitude of the Baja desert at your back. It is likely easier in paradise to be kind and loving, and compassionate.

But what happens when we return to the chaotic and emotional turbulence that surrounds our everyday life? What happens when we return to a world that is more focused on judging others than understanding their unique story and perspective? How do we learn to look at each other with awe (and all the love and gratitude that awe demands)?

I recently had a conversation with a Sabbatical Sessions alum who lamented the harsh reality of what she went back to after she left Baja. My advice to her (and myself) is simple, "Be the thermostat, not the thermometer." A thermometer tracks the temperature but has no influence over it. A thermostat controls the climate.

Put another way, we need to make our own realities, rather than letting the world dictate what our realities will be. And, while we’re at it, we might remind ourselves that awe is not in the ocean or the desert or the stars. Real—lasting awe—is in our hearts and how we choose to see one another.

We can take this feeling anywhere. And if enough of us join in, hopefully, it will spread until awe becomes our new way of living.