Wednesday, November 09, 2005
two year old wisdom
i had the pleasure of spending this last weekend with a two year old friend of mine. she is a brilliant, fun-loving, adventurous little person. we had a ton of fun hiking in the woods, swimming, playing house, climbing, and painting our fingernails - and to my surprise i moved much slower than usual. that's right, hanging with a two year old actually slowed me down.
now don't get me wrong, young children have loads more energy than the average 26 year old like myself, but they also use their energy in a very different way. what i found my friend had that i often lack was the patience and concentration to truly immerse herself in an activity. she could spend 20 minutes examining the dead ladybug in the windowsill while i was itching to head back outside, find some new ball to play with, or make sure we had what we needed for lunch.
when we hiked in the woods, the same thing happened. our hike didn't take us far because there was way too much to experience in just the first three feet. crunching through the fall leaves, each plant, bird song or insect called us to slow down and observe.
it was a marvelous weekend, and i ended it feeling physically exhausted and mentally renewed. i was so pleased to have spent the time i did watching the pond and listening to the birds, to have sat quietly while she slowly and painstakingly painted my fingernails. i realized as the weekend came to a close that my little friend had opened my mind, her two year old wisdom had shown me that slowing down allowed much more to happen than did my usual method of rushing to fit everything in.
when was the last time you immersed yourself completely in something?
how might your daily experiences differ if you slowed down and really soaked in every detail?
as always i'd love to hear your thoughts...post 'em here!
dream big,
-kirsten
now don't get me wrong, young children have loads more energy than the average 26 year old like myself, but they also use their energy in a very different way. what i found my friend had that i often lack was the patience and concentration to truly immerse herself in an activity. she could spend 20 minutes examining the dead ladybug in the windowsill while i was itching to head back outside, find some new ball to play with, or make sure we had what we needed for lunch.
when we hiked in the woods, the same thing happened. our hike didn't take us far because there was way too much to experience in just the first three feet. crunching through the fall leaves, each plant, bird song or insect called us to slow down and observe.
it was a marvelous weekend, and i ended it feeling physically exhausted and mentally renewed. i was so pleased to have spent the time i did watching the pond and listening to the birds, to have sat quietly while she slowly and painstakingly painted my fingernails. i realized as the weekend came to a close that my little friend had opened my mind, her two year old wisdom had shown me that slowing down allowed much more to happen than did my usual method of rushing to fit everything in.
when was the last time you immersed yourself completely in something?
how might your daily experiences differ if you slowed down and really soaked in every detail?
as always i'd love to hear your thoughts...post 'em here!
dream big,
-kirsten
# posted by kirsten johnson @ 2:51 PM 
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Interesting--I wouldn't want to slow down all my daily experiences, because often there are times I can't wait to get away from what's happening. But I also often stop to soak in the geese flying overhead, the sunset, the varying kinds of music you hear coming from other cars that also have their windows open in the summer (kinda neat!), the night sky, or when I'm with people I truly enjoy being with, and/or the atmosphere we're in.
My best times to immerse myself in everything around me are when I'm walking through the woods, although I often get those same feelings while looking out into my back yard. I so agree with you; we need these moments to refresh ourselves and enjoy what we have.
This year, handing out Halloween candy was one of those moments, too. The wonder on the kids' faces when they saw how we decorated our porch, or when I gave them more candy than they expected. Several of them completely expressed their gratitude. Was good for my soul.
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My best times to immerse myself in everything around me are when I'm walking through the woods, although I often get those same feelings while looking out into my back yard. I so agree with you; we need these moments to refresh ourselves and enjoy what we have.
This year, handing out Halloween candy was one of those moments, too. The wonder on the kids' faces when they saw how we decorated our porch, or when I gave them more candy than they expected. Several of them completely expressed their gratitude. Was good for my soul.
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