lessons from a childs smile..:-)

just sharing a moment i saw..

   I am at Deep Creek sitting at a picnic table enjoying a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sun is shining and a canopy of trees provide shade with the occasional flicker of sunlight sifting through the waving limbs above, the trees seemingly at play themselves. I am peacefully alone, to write, or just let the air caress me. There are families nearby picnicking, grills sending smoke signals  that tell of supper on the way.
      Off to myself I notice an approaching visitor, one wandering away from the nearby family chatting and laughing unaware of his escape. It is a very small child, barely walking, but excited nonetheless by the fact that now he can. As he approaches I am not alarmed. The family is in plain sight. If they don’t see him by the time he gets to me I will just whistle to let them know of the rogue toddler.  Actually, I am pleasantly amused as I quietly watch the child. He is walking clumsily but determined. His chubby little feet in the bread roll shaped shoes shuffle noisily through the grass as dry leaves crumble under his steps, while other leaves seem to scoot along with each step that prods them forward, like little pets following their playmate.  His smile is priceless and my smile grows big with it. His tiny hands held out to his side bouncing as he explores, I am thinking how simple his thoughts must be, but then realize he probably isn’t bothering with thoughts at all.  He is just free! and on an adventure to places he has never been, and  in a new way he has found to take him. Just listening to crunching leaves and looking at the sprinkles of sunlight dancing  on the ground  from above requires nothing but enjoying them, and he seems to be doing that abundantly well as attested to by his grins and giggles. 
     As he got near me, though unaware I was even there (the leaves were too cool..haha), I started to whistle but his mother turned as I did and saw him.  Smiling, she trotted over toward him saying in a loving motherly way
“Just where do you think you are going?”
She snatched him up from behind, sweeping his feet in the air as he kept grinning ear to ear. She turned heading back to the picnic while he playfully looked back at the leaves he left behind with a mischievous grin that seemed to say, “I’ll be back”.
I laughed and then watched as she sat him back down in the midst of the family and other kids running around. He didn’t wait. He just started his steps again. This time mom saw him and told him to stay. He turned and grinned, and plopped on the ground right where he was. I noticed as he sat, he was in a circle of bright sunlight about the size of a kiddie pool, only instead of water and rubber ducks, he was bathing in sunlight , splashing in leaves and  running his chubby fingers in the grass as though wading. Life was good.
 He blissfully isn’t aware of life as an adult knows it, which means he is actually more aware of what matters than most.  We learn as we grow here about troubles and dangers, the way rocks can scrape our knee or broken limbs poke us when we fall. Unfortunately we also learn that sometimes others place the stones and limbs in our path and we learn fear and anger, and things that cloud our soul, and cause us to lose the awareness and  peace we can and should have in our moments. It is true this child, if left alone, would face fears, approaching darkness, and no food or shelter, and then perish. He needs the adult to nurture him. But, I see the adult needs the child to nurture their  soul as well, to help them get back what’s been lost.  Jesus understood this. Watching this child and the glow of joy in his face, I realized one of the things Jesus meant when he said “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” It wasn’t that if you “behave you will go to a better place in the sky,“ but was rather was about the heart, and the simple faith and awareness of the moment. The kind that gives a child joy in as simple a thing as sitting on the ground in leaves, grass, and the sunshine.  Things that God has freely given us.  I looked at this child and thought “How could you tell him there was a better place?”  At that moment, for him, what place could be better than this!
     As adults, maybe we won’t play on the ground in a pool of sunshine, crunching leaves in our fists and tickling ourselves between our fingers as blades of grass slide through, but each day gives us opportunity to become as children, and get a taste heaven in the breeze, the song of a bird, the smell of flowers, or the touch of a caring loving hand. Even to give a little touch of heaven ourselves with a smile.  But, then again, if you happen upon a forty something year old poet sitting in a circle of sun on the grass, crunching dry leaves, just leave him be,…especially if he is smiling.  :-)

Reviews

[Wildfleour]

Lucas or Hoyt? I'm confused......lol.

Thank you for sharing this very special moment with us. I hope to hold on to my childlike wonder and innocence. And smile forever.

[Samuel Dickens]

As your ending revealed, some of us do hang onto a few remnants of our former, much younger, selves. I have thought along these same lines. A very sweet story, hoyt.

[cest la vie]

Lucas,
this is a beautiful story. So well written and such a lovely message. How did I miss this? So many wonderful lines I can not possibly single one out as a favorite. Please feature this piece. It is a delight for all readers :-)