Usage of the word ‘awesome’ has become increasingly common. So much so that it takes away some of the punch it can deliver. I still love using it though!
Photo 1: Singular beauty

Everything is awesome
After watching the Lego movie featuring the rather catchy song Everything is Awesome the lyrics stayed in my head for several days. My 5 year old daughter said it was the first ‘boy type’ movie she actually enjoyed. Now that statement would take another blog post to unpack but nevertheless the theme song was catchy to my kids too.
After watching the tv series Chuck and discovering Devon, aka Captain Awesome I also nicknamed my scientist husband Dr Awesome which he finds rather amusing. We would certainly like everything to be awesome all the time and being part of a team usually helps to get you there. Over use of the word can make the awesome seem mundane but there are tiny moments of ‘awesome’ happening throughout our days if we take the time to pay attention.
When I do my floral photography I can spend hours marvelling at the awesome display flowers create while simultaneously being beautiful and providing a vital link in the cycle of life.
When things get awful
Sometimes though life can be more awful than awesome. Sometimes shockingly awful things happen and in those moments it’s difficult to find the ‘awesome’.
When my Mum died last year it was awful for our family. The loss also reminded us of our own mortality.
To keep moving forward though we need to rediscover the ‘awesome’ as that gives us hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Photo 2: Intricate detail on a pink Chrysanthemum

Finding the awesome
Then I watched a TED talk given by 70 year old Isabel Allende – “How to live passionately at any age” – she had decided to live her life with passion and make the most of the time she had. Inspirational!
The ‘awesome’ within us needs to be unleashed so the awful doesn’t squash us into pits of despair. When we release our own awesomeness and reflect and encourage the awesomeness of others then life feels more purposeful and meaningful.
There is only one of you. You are unique. What will you do with your ‘awesome’?