As I looked down at Machu Picchu, surrounded by those magnificent mountains, I found myself thinking about the people who had built this extraordinary place hundreds of years ago. The ingenuity, the determination, the incredible engineering involved in constructing an entire city in such a remote and mountainous location.
And here I was, standing in a place I had seen countless times in photographs but never imagined would feel quite like this. It was surreal.
Welcome to RenewHer, a podcast for women over 50 ready to reignite their energy and explore what's next. I'm Genell Lemley, brain fitness coach. Here, you'll hear real stories from women taking on new challenges after 50 along with brain health tips to boost focus, energy, and the mindset to move forward with confidence.
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Hello, and welcome back to RenewHer. A few days ago, I was standing at the Sun Gate, high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, looking down at Machu Picchu. It was one of those moments that's difficult to put into words.
We had just hiked more than seven miles along the Inca trail, climbing over 2,300 feet in elevation, navigating uneven terrain, and making our way up what seemed like an endless number of stone steps. At one point, we climbed 326 stone steps straight up. And we were doing all of this at an altitude where the air was noticeably thinner than what I'm accustomed to.
When we first arrived in Cusco a few days earlier at more than 11,000 feet above sea level, I could feel the difference almost immediately. Climbing stairs was an entirely different experience. My muscles fatigued quickly, and I needed to stop frequently to catch my breath and let them recover. So by the time we reached the Sun Gate, there was certainly a feeling of accomplishment, but there was something more.
As I looked down at Machu Picchu, surrounded by those magnificent mountains, I found myself thinking about the people who had built this extraordinary place hundreds of years ago.
The ingenuity. The determination. The incredible engineering involved in constructing an entire city in such a remote and mountainous location. And here I was, standing in a place I had seen countless times in photographs but never imagined would feel quite like this. It was surreal. I felt a mixture of accomplishment, amazement, gratitude, and wonder.
And I've been thinking about that feeling ever since because there's actually a word for what I was experiencing: awe. And it turns out that awe is much more than simply being impressed by something beautiful. It's an emotion that researchers have been studying and one that may have some interesting implications for how we experience the world, connect with others, and even how we think.
So today, for this fiftieth episode of RenewHer, I thought I'd do something a little different. I want to share a few reflections from my recent trip to Peru and explore something that I think we could all use a little more of in our lives: awe and wonder.
Think about the last time something truly stopped you in your tracks. Maybe it was standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, watching an extraordinary sunset, looking up at a sky filled with stars, hearing a piece of music that moved you so deeply you could barely explain why, or witnessing an act of kindness that restored a little of your faith in humanity.
Those are the kinds of experiences that can evoke awe. Researchers who study awe often describe it as an emotion that arises when we encounter something vast or extraordinary that challenges our existing understanding of the world. And that vastness doesn't necessarily have to be physical. It might be the vastness of a mountain range, but it could also be an extraordinary act of courage, a remarkable scientific discovery, or something that makes us rethink what we thought we knew.
There's often a sense that what we're experiencing is bigger than ourselves, and that our usual way of looking at the world needs to expand a little to take it all in. I think that's a wonderful way to describe what I experienced in Peru because it wasn't just the scenery, it was everything surrounding it.
Before this trip, I had never traveled to South America. Most of my international travel has been in Europe, so Peru introduced me to an entirely different part of the world. And while the hike to Machu Picchu was certainly a highlight, some of the most meaningful moments happened along the way.
We visited small villages and met local families. We watched artisans demonstrate the ancient practice of backstrap weaving, a tradition passed down through generations. We even had the opportunity to hike alongside a herd of llamas through the beautiful Andean countryside. And one particularly meaningful experience was participating in a traditional offering ceremony to Pachamama, or Mother Earth, led by a local shaman. It was another opportunity to experience the spiritual traditions of the Andean people and gain a deeper appreciation for their connection to the natural world.
We learned about the Inca civilization and the extraordinary knowledge its people possessed. Their engineering and construction techniques were remarkable, especially considering the tools and resources available to them.
I found myself questioning some of the assumptions we can make about civilizations that existed hundreds of years ago. Sometimes we look at modern technology and assume that we're somehow more intelligent or capable than the people who came before us.
But learning about what the Incas accomplished reminded me just how much knowledge, creativity, and ingenuity existed long before our modern conveniences. We also witnessed significant poverty, and yet we encountered people who welcomed us warmly, shared their traditions, and seemed to find joy and meaning in ways that were different from what I'm accustomed to.
I don't want to suggest that material hardship doesn't matter, but the experience did make me reflect on how differently people live around the world and how much we can learn when we're willing to step outside what's familiar.
There were also moments of laughter and connection. Our group included twenty travelers, most of us over sixty, along with two wonderful Backroads leaders.
We shared challenging climbs, fabulous meals, stories, and plenty of laughs. There was something special about being surrounded by people who shared a curiosity about the world and a desire to keep exploring it. By the end of the week, we had shared experiences that none of us will soon forget.
And all of this made me think about how these experiences like these affect us. Because awe isn't just a fleeting moment of amazement. Research suggests it can actually influence the way we experience the world around us.
One of the interesting things about awe is that it seems to shift where we direct our attention. Think about how much of our typical day is spent focused on ourselves, our responsibilities, our schedules, our problems, what we need to accomplish, what we haven't gotten done.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that. Much of it is simply part of managing everyday life. But researchers have found that experiencing awe can temporarily shift our attention away from our usual self-focused concerns. Some researchers refer to this as the Small Self, not because we feel insignificant or unimportant, but because we become more aware that we're part of something much larger.
For a moment, our everyday concerns seem less important as our attention shifts to something beyond ourselves. Standing at the Sun Gate looking down at Machu Picchu, I wasn't thinking about my to-do list. I wasn't thinking about emails waiting for me or what I needed to accomplish when I returned home. I was completely absorbed in what was in front of me, and I think that's part of what made the experience so memorable.
Research also suggests that awe can influence our sense of time. In some studies, people who experienced awe reported feeling as though they had more time available to them. Imagine that. An emotion that can make us feel a little less rushed.
Researchers have also explored connections between awe and feelings of generosity, humility, and social connection. And some studies suggest that awe experiences may contribute to psychological well-being. Now, that doesn't mean a single moment of awe is going to dramatically change how we think or feel.
But research suggests that awe can influence how we direct our attention, how we perceive ourselves in relation to others, and how we experience the world around us. And those are meaningful aspects of our mental and emotional well-being.
Here's what I find especially interesting. Although my experience at Machu Picchu was extraordinary, awe isn't reserved for extraordinary destinations, and it certainly doesn't require an expensive trip or a physically demanding adventure.
In fact, researchers studying awe have found that people can experience it in surprisingly ordinary settings. You might experience awe while watching your grandchild discover something for the first time or noticing the intricate details of a flower you've walked past dozens of times without giving it much thought. Maybe it's watching a flock of birds moving together across the sky or learning something that completely changes the way you see the world. And I think that's an important distinction because we often associate awe with those big once-in-a-lifetime experiences: the trips, the milestones, the extraordinary accomplishments.
But perhaps we're overlooking opportunities for wonder that are already part of our everyday lives. I wonder how many moments we miss simply because we're moving too quickly to notice them. We're so accustomed to filling our schedules, checking our phones, and thinking about what's next, and sometimes we stop paying attention to what's right in front of us.
I think that's one of the reasons I love traveling so much. It takes me out of my normal routine. I'm in unfamiliar surroundings. I'm seeing things I've never seen before. I'm learning about people whose lives and experiences are different from mine. And because so much is unfamiliar, I find myself paying closer attention. I'm more observant, more curious, more open to being surprised.
But I don't think we should have to travel somewhere new to experience that sense of curiosity. What if we brought a little more of it into our everyday lives? What if we occasionally took a different walking route and actually noticed our surroundings? Visited a museum or attended a performance we normally wouldn't choose. Stopped to appreciate something beautiful instead of immediately reaching for our phones? Or simply approach something familiar with a curiosity of seeing it for the first time? There's no guarantee that every one of these experiences will produce awe, but perhaps we can create more opportunities for it by being willing to notice, explore, and remain curious.
And as we move through the second half of life, I think that willingness matters. It's easy to become comfortable with what we know, with our routines, with our familiar surroundings. And there's certainly value in comfort and familiarity.
But I don't want familiarity to become the reason I stop being curious. I don't want to reach a point where I assume I've already seen enough, learned enough, or experienced enough. Because if this trip reminded me of anything, it's that there's still so much of the world I haven't seen, so much I don't know, and so much I have yet to experience.
As I think back on Peru, I know I'll remember that first glimpse of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate. I'll remember the challenging climb and the incredible sense of accomplishment when we reached the top. But I'll also remember my fellow travelers and leaders, the warmth of the local families, the ingenuity of a civilization I knew far too little about, the conversations and laughter we shared, and the value of gratitude I brought home with me.
I returned with an even greater desire to continue exploring the world, but I also came home thinking about something else. I don't want to reserve that sense of wonder for the next big trip. I want to notice more of it in the life I'm already living. And maybe that's something worth thinking about for all of us.
When was the last time you experienced something that truly filled you with awe? Something that made you pause, look around, and take it all in? And where might you find a little more wonder in your everyday life? Because sometimes what changes our perspective isn't what we accomplish, it's what we allow ourselves to experience.
Until next time, stay curious, keep exploring, and make room for a little wonder.
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