How can we, as adults, feel the joy of children more often?
Yesterday, I was in a few different stores, and I noticed children beaming at me and smiling. These kids were likely under 5 years old. One child was actually walking backward quickly, trying to keep up with the large stride of his mother, grinning ear to ear while “speed- walking backward”.
Another child, in a food store, seemed to have a sling on her arm. From a distance, I glanced and perceived that she had hurt herself. As I got closer to her (at Whole Foods Market, produce department), I smiled and asked, “How did you hurt yourself?” She beamed back with a big smile, and said, “I am not hurt, I am just pretending”. Then I noticed that her “sling” around her arm was actually a plastic bag from the produce department that she fabricated as a pretend sling.
She skipped away with her siblings and mom, having played “doctor” in that moment, creatively taking a prop, using a plastic bag that could hold apples or bananas, turning it into a joyful game in the moment.
Yes…joy in the moment. Do you recall a time when a moment could be joyful, in the most mundane of circumstances?
Today I need to drive about 20 miles north. It is sunny and beautiful, and I live a mile from the ocean. Rather than drive quickly up the highway, I plan to bring lots of my favorite music CD’s, and take a slow and beautiful ride up “A1A”, the scenic drive by the water. Yes, that will bring me lots of joy in each moment. The drive will take twice as long, and bring me much more joy in the moment.