Corona Virus Quarantine Day #184: The Wonder and Awe of Children: September 20, 2020:
Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all saw the world the way a child did? Kids see everything with such wonder and awe and it’s really quite something.
For example, I took Fletcher on my walk with Gigi today. We went about 1/3rd of the distance we normally do in the same amount of time because he has to stop and smell (or pick) every flower, say hello to all the grasshoppers and tell me about all the really awesome things he noticed along the way.
When a biker or runner passed us on the other side of the path he always said “hello” or complimented them by saying something like “cool bike”.
He’s 5 and this kid just walks through life thinking most stuff is pretty awesome. He sprints through life really, asking 1,000 questions and wanting to know more about all things. He also thinks that people are inherently good and assumes that everyone is “nice.”
This is also what makes children so scary and easy to kidnap. They are trusting and easy to trick. But it truly is what makes them so beautiful and pure. They don’t judge people for what they are wearing, or what they look like. They don’t care if you have money or are poor. They just want to ask you questions and talk to you and assume you are full of goodness.
Kids see things like leaves and are incredibly excited to find one that has cool markings or is a pretty color. Most adults walk past the leaves and don’t give them a second thought. Kids find a caterpillar and it’s a magical moment that brings them incredible joy. Adults probably don’t notice the furry caterpillar at all. Kids are more likely to say hello or smile at a stranger than an adult. Is there anything better than a smile or laugh from a little one? I’d argue there is not.
As I walked with our 5 year-old and our crazy dog I couldn’t help but think how lovely it would be if everyone had a little 5 year old in them; How nice it would be if we all looked at the world with the same wonder in awe as a small child?
Our world is a mess right now. There is a pending presidential election that seems to get more divisive by the second. The mainstream news media doesn’t report facts anymore they just espouse their opinions all all things important. We are still in the middle of national pandemic. Our kids all across the US are either learning virtually, in some kind of hybrid model or in school full time, in masks. Our teachers (and parents) across the country are barely keeping it together. The west coast is burning, literally, to the ground. People in our nation actually want to defund the police. We have seen protests both peaceful and otherwise for months. Innocent, hard working people’s businesses have been burned down, broken into and destroyed as a result of some of the unrest in our nation.
Things right now, are, in a word, challenging.
So when I walked with our sweet, slightly cray-town, 5 year-old son I couldn’t help but just act like an innocent child and enjoy the beauty of the spider webs he pointed out to me. “Mom, look at that ginormous spider web, it’s huge. I bet the spider is really scary” (said in the most excited voice ever).
We saw two yellow butterflies who appeared to be having a “butterfly fight” as Fletcher called it. We stopped dead in our tracks so as to not disturb them. When they stopped Fletcher proudly proclaimed, “they must be friends again mom.”
It was 40 minutes of pure unadulterated bliss. While I wish we could have walked a little faster, I tried to soak up the goodness, the innocence and the wonder and awe of it all.
I wish that everyone could have some wonder and awe in their life so we could all sit back and realize that although things right now are challenging, we are also surrounded by beauty, if we just take the time to look for it.
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#Celebr8Awesome 