Today I was watching my daughter play outside. She was running with her arms spread wide, her face up, just soaking in the sun and feeling the breeze on her face. Every now and then she would stop and pick up a handful of the colorful fallen leaves and throw them in the air. Then she would giggle with joy as the wind swept them away, whirling them in circles through the air.
"Mommy! Did you see that?" she would cry every time.
Then she would continue running around, occasionally stopping to pick up an interesting new item to show me or ask me about.
"Mommy, look at this!"
"What is this?"
"Look at the color of this one! It's so pretty!"
"Isn't this interesting?"
"Ohh! Feel this, it's prickly!"
"What kind of tree is this from?"
It brought me pure joy to watch her just be a child. She was enjoying the simplest pleasures in life, and was having a great time with things that didn't cost any money.
As I sat there watching her, I realized something. I wished I was her. Wouldn't it be nice to go back to the carefree days of youth? I would love to return to the days when I could take pleasure in the simplest things in life. How great would it be to not have the stresses of adulthood?
I can't help but wonder when we start to lose that innocence. When do trees, leaves, and bugs quit being entertaining? When does grandpa quit being so cool? When do you realize that daddy doesn't know everything? I mean, does it just suddenly happen, or is it more of a gradual change?
Unfortunately, I cannot return to my innocent days of youth. However, today I realized something that I need to do. I need to remember to stop and enjoy the simple things in life. Because sometimes, the simplest things in life, are the best things in life.
Today, I did just that. I sat back and watched my daughter play. I didn't worry about what I could get done while she was entertaining herself. I didn't think about bills or work. I just watched her.
Innocent.
Pure.
Simple.
Joy.
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