A new family moved into the apartment above us. I haven’t met her yet, but among the occupants is a delightful little toddler girl.
I’ve heard her padding above, exploring their balcony, which sits directly above our patio. Our patio looks out onto the park and it’s become my favorite place to center myself, meditate, study and write. Her happy feet and prattle add to the music of the birds and bugs and trees so beautifully. She fits right in. I’m grateful.
Their dining room is adjacent to the balcony. This morning I could hear her up there, in between the dish clinks of their morning breakfast. She was making up songs about this and that. I tried to record it, but my phone wouldn’t pick it up. That’s probably a good thing as I guess I was being a little stalkerish. But it was just so… perfect.
She is currently living a life that doesn’t have to be directly concerned with politics or weather catastrophies, racism and misogyny. She has the freedom to sing about toast and to get enthralled with the things that we Big Nostril People (adults) can look straight through in the clutter of our complicated lives.
She transported me back to those days with my own daughter when she would play in the trees of our back yard; Conversations with the neighbors cat, making pretend meals out of leaves and sticks and “telling up stories” even before her vocabulary was apparent to the rest of us. She invited me into her world of wonder and peacefulness and it has now become a permanent part of me.
Friends, we have enormous concerns and deep pain. If we are to be strong enough, wise enough, to walk through it all well, we need to cultivate those grounded moments of carefree peace and wonder. We need it for our strength and for our resiliency.
I want to encourage you to listen to the voices of children. Notice the natural world around around you and if you aren’t in any natural spaces, I encourage you to go find some.
This is where we will find and be empowered by our “Why.”
And a little child shall lead us. (Thanks for leading me, Jazmyne Craig.)
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