Like fireflies in a mason jar, let’s collect moments of joy and play throughout the summer!
As a mom and an educator, I find ‘moments of joy’ challenging because they are surrounded by moments of ordinary. And I also wonder…maybe the ordinary moments ARE actually the joy moments.
Maybe all my heart needs is the truth of together, the belonging with one another, the doing life authentically. Maybe that’s all the world needs! Maybe my most courageous summer plan looks like finding the proverbial flower growing out of the stone, the grass piercing the concrete, the tree in the desert.
Learn Forward invites us to focus on what truly matters by shifting our focus from the drama of the day to the joy of the day!
Please know, I am not naturally a cup-half-full, positivity gal. I am mostly serious and critically minded. I find it easier to note the “areas of growth” than the ordinary moments laced with joy.
So, I practice!
My practice looks like this…
Recently, we’ve been hiking as a family. Out our front door we can hike down to the creek. G is terrified to cross the slotted, hand-made log bridge across the creek by herself. We tell her, “You can do hard things!” Each time she’s getting a bit braver. We don’t let her hold onto us. We just keep stretching, close and encouraging; not holding on, yet taking great joy in her growth.
It’s a moment…when she takes a step on her own. Taking a step…
…pure joy is stepping out to try with a great sense of selfhood…
This week I got down on the carpet and put birthday toys together with her. The barnyard came to life with the instructions, our creativity, and the pieces. It was a shared experience…thirty minutes of ordinary…a shared joy!
It’s a moment…of belonging together. Belonging…
…pure joy is belonging together…
The children are filled with life! If you are a parent or a teacher, you can see their vitality shimmering like the leaves on an aspen tree in the afternoon sunlight. Today, we were at the beach! I watched the teens playing on a paddle board with that vitality. All three of them…balancing being together…laughing with joy when they needed to try again.
It’s a moment…when you can see them playing. Playful…
…pure joy is watching them play…
…worthiness blooms there.
I know many of us are carrying the pressures, strains, and heartaches of real life. It was a large week full of lots of bumps and bruises. The tone may not feel warm and fuzzy.
I wonder how we can make even the most minuscule shift today to take joy in the children around us…for there are so many ordinary moments of joy…moments blooming like flowers in the stone.
This week, how can you step out to try with your child, share an experience, or relish in watching them play with vitality?
For the sake of the children,
Karine