Word every Gracious Individual should know: Numinous
Definition: Numinous; Pronounced (nU-mi-nus); Latin; adjective
1. Describing an experience that makes you fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted--the powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired.
Why I love this word:
This word alone sounds powerful and inspiring, almost like a spell from Harry Potter, but it's the definition that strikes me the most. There are few things in this world that can inspire such an emotion that merits a description of numinous. To some it maybe religion or God, to others it may be the birth of their child, it could be witnessing a miracle, or being part of a momentous moment in history, it could even be as simple as gazing at the stars on a clear summer night without any hinderance from city lights where every star is fully exposed. It is an experience that remains with us even years ahead--it is an event that impacts us and inspires us. It is a completely personal experience that is not the same for anyone else, for it is something that is experienced with our own heart not with our mind. Numinous experiences do not happen everyday but should be cherished for the impact and felling that they give us when they do arrive in our lives.
Photograph by Andrea
Definition: Numinous; Pronounced (nU-mi-nus); Latin; adjective
1. Describing an experience that makes you fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted--the powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired.
Why I love this word:
This word alone sounds powerful and inspiring, almost like a spell from Harry Potter, but it's the definition that strikes me the most. There are few things in this world that can inspire such an emotion that merits a description of numinous. To some it maybe religion or God, to others it may be the birth of their child, it could be witnessing a miracle, or being part of a momentous moment in history, it could even be as simple as gazing at the stars on a clear summer night without any hinderance from city lights where every star is fully exposed. It is an experience that remains with us even years ahead--it is an event that impacts us and inspires us. It is a completely personal experience that is not the same for anyone else, for it is something that is experienced with our own heart not with our mind. Numinous experiences do not happen everyday but should be cherished for the impact and felling that they give us when they do arrive in our lives.
Photograph by Andrea
