Big Moments
Life can drone along at a hum for years—then break into a short but glorious chorus that changes us forever. It's impossible to predict such peak experiences; in fact, that's part of their charm. But it is possible to prepare for them.
By Rebecca Webber, published on September 01, 2010 - last reviewed on September 05, 2010
Dagney McKinley had just finished her Master's degree in creative writing and decided to reward herself with an experience she'd been dreaming of for 10 years: traveling to see a Kermode bear, also called a spirit bear. "I'd read about it and always wanted to see it," she says. "It was my graduation treat to myself." A black bear that grows white fur (although it is not an albino), the Kermode bear lives on only two islands in northern Canada. McKinley booked a trip on a small boat holding a dozen adventurers and headed north.
After kayaking and visiting native Inuit hot springs, her group was guided to an area where the bears were often seen. "After about an hour and a half, the first spirit bear came up and fished just 20 feet from us," recalls McKinley. "It was a huge adrenaline rush. We were almost shaking, we were so excited to see this animal that most people in the world will never see. I had a light feeling and an energy rush like euphoria. And I was sharing it with all the others."McKinley says that seeing the Kermode bear has been one of the best moments of her life. "Even talking about it now, I feel a little bit of the high," she says. Besides the memories, it left her with an expanded idea of herself. "I've always been shy and had a low sense of self-worth," she confides. But researching, planning, and arranging all the details of the trip boosted her sense of self-efficacy. And getting to know 12 strangers demonstrated that she could conquer her shyness. "That experience built up my sense of who I am and what I can accomplish."
Everyone's life has superlative moments—times when we feel extraordinary and our experiences are recorded in Technicolor. "It's part of the human condition," says Roland Griffiths, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University. "We're wired to have such experiences."
Psychologist Abraham Maslow famously coined the term "peak experience" in 1964 to denote sudden feelings of intense well-being that fill us with wonder and awe. Psychologically healthy people tend to have more of them, and such experiences can also bring feelings of interconnectedness and create a sharper sense of life purpose. "It's that quality of the experience that makes it so memorable," says Griffiths. "People feel that it informs life going forward." As a result, peak experiences may cause a cascade of changes in our lives, as we accommodate our newly expanded sense of self.
Life can drone along at a hum for years—then break into a short but glorious chorus that changes us forever. It's impossible to predict such peak experiences; in fact, that's part of their charm. But it is possible to prepare for them.
By Rebecca Webber, published on September 01, 2010 - last reviewed on September 05, 2010
Dagney McKinley had just finished her Master's degree in creative writing and decided to reward herself with an experience she'd been dreaming of for 10 years: traveling to see a Kermode bear, also called a spirit bear. "I'd read about it and always wanted to see it," she says. "It was my graduation treat to myself." A black bear that grows white fur (although it is not an albino), the Kermode bear lives on only two islands in northern Canada. McKinley booked a trip on a small boat holding a dozen adventurers and headed north.
After kayaking and visiting native Inuit hot springs, her group was guided to an area where the bears were often seen. "After about an hour and a half, the first spirit bear came up and fished just 20 feet from us," recalls McKinley. "It was a huge adrenaline rush. We were almost shaking, we were so excited to see this animal that most people in the world will never see. I had a light feeling and an energy rush like euphoria. And I was sharing it with all the others."McKinley says that seeing the Kermode bear has been one of the best moments of her life. "Even talking about it now, I feel a little bit of the high," she says. Besides the memories, it left her with an expanded idea of herself. "I've always been shy and had a low sense of self-worth," she confides. But researching, planning, and arranging all the details of the trip boosted her sense of self-efficacy. And getting to know 12 strangers demonstrated that she could conquer her shyness. "That experience built up my sense of who I am and what I can accomplish."
Everyone's life has superlative moments—times when we feel extraordinary and our experiences are recorded in Technicolor. "It's part of the human condition," says Roland Griffiths, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University. "We're wired to have such experiences."
Psychologist Abraham Maslow famously coined the term "peak experience" in 1964 to denote sudden feelings of intense well-being that fill us with wonder and awe. Psychologically healthy people tend to have more of them, and such experiences can also bring feelings of interconnectedness and create a sharper sense of life purpose. "It's that quality of the experience that makes it so memorable," says Griffiths. "People feel that it informs life going forward." As a result, peak experiences may cause a cascade of changes in our lives, as we accommodate our newly expanded sense of self.
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