Have you been wishing for certain things to happen (or not) in your life?... Have you been worrying about other things that might come to fruition (or not) with regard to your career, financially, or otherwise?
I wrote about the topic a couple months ago in a post called the "The Wish-Worry Continuum". It was about how we cope (or not) in our lives - and how we wish and worry about so much.
I'd say those writings were meaningful - even insightful. But recently, we found that our concept was missing a very important "W" word, thanks to a few advisors - all of whom are under the age of 10.
Who are these young advisors one might ask? - and how did we come upon them?
The picture is a typical one:
Sue and I spent an evening with another couple recently. Special friends. We visited their place; chatting, cooking, and sharing stories. One might say there was quite a bit of wisdom in the room. The conversation was thoughtful, even insightful. Sometimes we chatted about current events... reflected on 9/11... or discussed concepts of entrepreneurship & leadership.
But, little did we know, the greatest lessons (and wisdom) came from the 3, 7 and 9-year olds in the room. Our friend's children.
Through the night, we adults "solved" everything in the world - through our thoughtful conversation. We wished for a better world - worried about what it might become - and pondered our role(s) within it.
Meanwhile; the kids were playing in the rain, asked us questions about how "fire works" (in the endeavor to make smores) and marveled in the wonder of a magic trick or two. They laughed, jumped, giggled... and asked question after question.
They were, indeed, full of Wonder.
Later that evening, one of these young spirits (or maybe not so young) shared her prized possessions with us adults. It was a collection of snow globes, an electronic keyboard... and more.
One thing that struck me most was her latest possession-project; It was a wall of organization. Everything in its place - clearly labeled - cloth box after cloth box... all in a row.
This young lady opened only one of these cloth boxes for us. It was her "Things to be proud of!!" box (yes, complete with two explanation points). The box contained awards and medals - for performing certain things at school - or in sports.
Many would display such things on a wall - on a desk - or somewhere prominant for all to see. But our little leader placed such things in a special private box, neatly labeled - just for her - and on this special occasion - for us too.
There was one item in the box of which she seemed most proud. It wasn't an award approved by an institution or a medal provided by a school. It was something she created with her own two hands; an art-piece. A beautiful peacock.
Today I discovered a description of the symbolism of the peacock:
"The Peacock is representative of glory, immortality, royalty, and incorruptibility. It is a possessor of some of the most admired human characteristics, and is a symbol of integrity and the beauty that can be achieved when we endeavor to better ourselves and better our lives"
It makes me Wonder:
- How is it we lose the ability to be filled with Wonder - to be truly Wonderful?
- And: What do we see when we look into our boxes of "Things to be proud of"?
.craig .a .james
.smart .simple .mobile 2010
Craig my friend, now this is a SETH like post, just terrific! Did the Play book help you be more conscious and appreciative of the experience?
Posted by: Srucinski1 | Monday, 13 September 2010 at 07:21 AM