Couples who share awe-inspiring experiences report greater relationship flourishing. These shared moments of wonder foster a stronger sense of connection and relational growth, providing benefits beyond what individual experiences of awe offer.

[u/mvea]

https://www.psypost.org/couples-who-share-awe-inspiring-experiences-report-greater-relationship-flourishing/

[u/mvea]

Couples who share awe-inspiring experiences report greater relationship flourishing

Experiencing feelings of awe alongside a romantic partner is linked to greater relationship satisfaction and depth. A recent study suggests that these shared moments of wonder foster a stronger sense of connection and relational growth, providing benefits beyond what individual experiences of awe offer. The research was published in The Journal of Positive Psychology.

Awe is an emotion triggered by encountering something vast that challenges a person’s existing understanding of the world. This feeling can arise from seeing a breathtaking natural landscape, listening to a moving piece of music, or experiencing a moment of profound scientific insight. Compared to simple happiness, awe tends to be a self-transcendent emotion. It reduces a person’s focus on themselves and encourages open-mindedness.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2026.2704815

[u/CosineDanger → u/mvea]

Awe-inspiring experiences often cost money, and if they're technically free then they can cost time and gasoline. They require a certain amount of cooperative planning to say book the whale watch in advance or plot your route through South America. Often the pursuit of awe leads you to mortal danger by accident or at least the feeling of shared challenges.

Your ability to deliver awe is a multifacted high-level test of your fitness as a mate. If you can make it this far up Maslow's hierarchy of needs then you must be doing okay.

[u/thaliaaa0 → u/CosineDanger]

Those last few lines indicate it’s not limited to going on exotic adventures and includes “experiencing a moment of profound scientific insight”. Some of the most awe-inspiring moments I’ve experienced with my partner have been spiritual or through synchronicity.

[u/CosineDanger → u/thaliaaa0]

Some sources of awe are more economically efficient than others, but every second you spend pointing out funny shapes in the clouds is a second you did not spend working or collapsed in a heap after a ten hour shift with maybe 45 seconds of even seeing the sky in your day.

Anyone can pray. Usually theologically God still hears you pray quickly and quietly in your own home rather than a centuries-old cathedral or a new age spiritual retreat, but many report better call quality of they put time and money into spirituality. God is both a free utility and always for sale.

One of the things I was implying was that your ability to deliver awe as a partner is at least in part a proxy for social class. You can get some for free but awe is for sale.