How can we silence our inner critic? How can we come together as a community? These are some of the questions I’ve asked myself on the long commute home from work at times. 

As a child, I grew up with conceptually very little. Our family were made homeless the first year I was born and the council house we were later moved to had holes in the floor and a smell that made the council officers sick. But what we lacked in material possessions, we made up for in heart. My grandad once said we weren’t rich in cash but we were rich in ‘here’, pointing at his chest – and frankly, that’s all that matters. Fast forward a few years to my pre-teen era and a space themed school project drove me to become fascinated with things bigger than ourselves. I remember studying a picture of some far flung galaxy and feeling overwhelmed with an emotion I couldn’t quite put my finger on at the time. I felt really small and insignificant, I thought it was beautiful and I couldn’t quite believe that somewhere out there, this place existed. I realise now that this feeling was awe. 

I have little doubt that it was these early experiences, that helped in the development of a very powerful life skill; perspective. Don’t get me wrong, a mortgage, full time job and a family does its best on the regular to make me lose any sense of it but on the rare occasion I’ve been able to step back, it’s those humbling thoughts I cling on to in order to remember what’s important.

Tired of the negativity in the media, frustrated by the consumerism of the western world and watching the mental health of a number of people close to me deteriorate, I wanted to create something which enabled me to share this perspective. It was on one of those commutes home I decided that promoting awe might just be the thing to do it. And the idea of “Awesome” was born. 

So here is my passion project, a small online light. Somewhere we can retreat to without being simultaneously bombarded with the latest beauty, fitness, baby, diet etc products. Somewhere wholesome. Somewhere uplifting.

Thank you for visiting.