Thursday, May 6, 2010

Wonder



"Verily i say unto you, unless you convert and become like a little child, you shall by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." ~Jesus

My mom has a habit of seeing things in other things. For example clouds. She often times says sentences that start like this... "Doesn't that look like a..." We went for a walk today by the Delaware Canal and she saw many things in other things. It was wonderful. She gets really excited about it and sometimes i think my father and i get frustrated by it and do not realize the beauty of that eye on the world.

What is it to convert and become like a little child? I think it is something akin to my mother seeing things in other things. Seeing geese looking at the sky in broken branches of a tree, seeing a face in the clouds or in a pair of drain pipes, all of these things are very child like ways of looking at the world. The things she sees are not sterile facts either, it is like a child noticing something wonderful, "Wow, look at that cloud, it looks like a dragon." I think that trait of children is the one that Jesus was talking about.

To the small child, everything is new and fresh. The world is an amazing place. Stuff, all stuff is something to get excited about. It is amazing to watch a lightening storm with the fresh eyes of childhood or to see a face in the bark of a tree. Children feel, deeply every emotion that they have. They are fully present in the moment. Part of the reason why time seems to fly by as people get older is because they stop really embracing the wonder of each moment. We rush through our days or wait like zombies for vacations and we wish our lives away. I do pretty well at declaring my neutrality from time and i can honestly say my life seems to be slowing down if anything. I have days that feel like weeks have past and several months ago seems like ages. It does make it hard when the person you love is away for a month or you are stuck at a red light but it is a small price to pay for an infinite feeling life.

My mom has a child-like wonder when she looks at things and i really admire that about her. When she sees those geese in the wood of the fallen tree and tells us about it, she has entered the kingdom of heaven. Loren Eisley talked of a child sized hole into greater eternities and we can only go through when we return to that state of childlike wonder and rapture at the amazing things everywhere around us. Because everything is amazing. There is an amazing play or game being played out about us all the time. Life is a glorious dream and i will continue to search for the things that other stuff looks like.

I guess what it all comes down to is that really, the Kingdom of Heaven is all around us. Children can see that and so can we if we put those child-eyes back on and remember to notice the magic or the faces in the clouds once in awhile. Thanks mom.

6 comments:

  1. I love your mom. She is a wonderful lady and I miss seeing her.....Happy Mother's Day, Gail!!!!

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  2. She is pretty rockin' isn't she.

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  3. Children usually don't worry about how clean their houses are, how many pairs of jeans they have, what kind of car they drive, what they HAVE to do tomorrow, if they'll end up living in a cardboard box, etc. They're just made to be happy--to look for happiness, what brings them joy, and settle for nothing less. They do what they love and stay away from negativity. Funny how the older we get, the more like our younger selves we long to be. :) Great post--your mom sounds awesome. :)

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  4. Your mom sounds like a wonderful lady. What a wonderful way to look at things in life always finding the joy in every moment and little wonder God has made for us to enjoy in this Universe. "Take time to smell the Roses" is such a useful cliche. I think of it when I walk out my front door and smell the beauty of the honey suckle flowers growing nearby and think yes, this is a great moment worth savoring. Each and every day is a gift.

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  5. Thanks guys. My mom is really great. I have a hard time just relaxing, always feel like i need to be doing something but presently i am in South Dakota and taking a lesson from my mom and just looking for shapes in clouds and breathing the free air.

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