Thursday, January 13, 2011

The photo above is of Tilly taken by her mom of Andrea's Photography. I love this photo for a lot of reasons but especially because it represents Tilly's childlike wonder in snow and the joy you can see on her face just from being out in it.

In a prior job I worked at a center that was for the care of the developmentally delayed and even though they may not have had the highest IQ's in the world I found them to be wise in so many ways as compared to their higher IQ contemporaries.I find them to take delight in small things and they derive such great pleasure from small things like twirling around to a song and dancing with abandon to a song they like without worrying what others think .

I want to learn from these wise souls the joy of childlike wonder to be found in the world around me. I find that often in the technological world we live in that we have somehow lost our wonder in the world and we go through life with a sense of dullness and we find that nothing really takes our breathe away as it did as a child. I want to recapture this in my life.

I think one of the ways we can do this is by looking at our lives and searching through the file drawers of our souls to find what makes us feel the most alive.

Here are the things that make me feel alive and with a sense of wonder.I hope you will share yours with me.

*Opening the door on a snowy morn and taking the first steps in the snow while listening to the snowy quietness of it all.

*the first signs of life from a comatose patient as he speaks are squeezes a hand for the first time.

*the beauty of a field of sunflowers on a summers day stretching as far as the eye can see.

*looking out the window when I fly and seeing the world in miniature and when flying into Portland seeing the Mountains lined up like sentinels marching across the spine of Oregon and Washington.

*the beauty of a cardinal on the newly fallen snow

* the grandeur I feel as I stand by the ocean

*the smallness I feel while listening to it thunder and storm when I visit home.

*finding a book or piece of music that speaks to my soul as though I had written it.

* connecting with friends like those I meet online who seem to be kindred spirits.


Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination. ~Robert Fulghum


27 comments:

Farm Girl said...

Wonderful and poignant. I think we loose touch with that part of child like innocence when we cease to dream. When we "grow-up," I know what you mean when meeting children with learning difficulties, I often wonder, isn't us that have they learning difficulties, they just see how things really are. That was why I home-schooled my children, I didn't want them labeled. My boys would have been because they didn't read until 10 or thereabouts.
As I started seeing life as they saw it helped me to regain what I lost.
Just the other day, I was walking and I found a secret place behind some trees, Tumbleweeds had piled up on the other side of the fence creating a room. I keep going back and I stand and stare at it, I want to climb in and watch the world from that vantage point. I haven't done it yet, but I will soon, and I will let you know what I saw.
Blessings to you my dear friend for wanting to see inside my soul.

Cloudia said...

Thank you for feeding our souls today :)
Aloha from Waikiki

Comfort Spiral

><}}(°>


<°)}}><


この魔法の村に私たちを割いていただきありがとうございます

Joan said...

Yolanda this is a beautiful post. It is so true - too often we take things for granted and forget to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

Blessings,
Joan

Anonymous said...

wonderful list. for me, being with my children, trying to see the world through their eyes is always filled with wonder.

Southern Gal said...

Childlike wonder and joy - thank you for this. My children and now my granddaughter let me peek in at it now.

Char said...

beautiful musings on what lights your eyes. i think of the bright red cardinals and the snow - gorgeous

and such a sweet photograph

Debbie in CA : ) said...

Precious!

These rainy days of January have found me missing my dear "special" son (though not DS) who went home to be with the Lord more than six years ago. He and his "special" twin brother (doubly blessed? YES!) taught us that life is beautiful when you pause and REALLY take a look at the little things. Life is truly just a collection of little things that most speed past in a race to GET somewhere rather than simply BE somewhere.

This post had me pouring tears as I nodded and nodded with each observation you shared.

Thank you, Yolanda. Perfectly Imperfect lives are lived with perfect joy and gusto, and most people do not know it.

Bless you.

p.s.
I slipped over to see the rest of the beautiful photos of Tilly -- more precious blessings. She's just adorable! Thanks for sharing.

Desiree said...

Marvellously inspirational post, Yolanda! And thank you for sharing the pictures of Tilly - what a gorgeous little girl, so completely at ease with herself and her world.

Short Poems said...

Great post and beautiful blog!

Heckety said...

Yes and yes and yes again! I love the way you expresse yourself! And I agree that to stop and wonder is a powerful thing.
For me, as well as sights, its sounds, like the crunch of snow,the swish of fallen leaves, the quack-grunt of ducks! Sometimes when I'm doing the shopping in town I just lean on the railings and watch the river for a while!
At school we have two children like Tilly and they give everyone such fun with their delight in things, and their giggles!

Jayne said...

I LOVE Robert Fulghum and think his idea is a fabulous one! Lovely post Yolanda. Have a blessed day!

Tracy said...

LOVE this photo of Tilly and joy she's expressing! As adults we could all do with keeping in touch with our inner child-like joy.. and living the JOY out loud. :o) Happy Days, Yolanda ((HUGS))

Dutchbaby said...

The simplicity of childlike wonder is precious indeed. Thank you for starting off this year on such a positive note!

Holli said...

Absolutely gorgeous photo! And your post is inspiring... thank you!

tea time and roses said...

Beautiful post dear Yolanda. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Happy weekend to you.

Smiles♥

Beverly

Amy Ellen said...

I loved your comments and thoughts on children with disabilities. My 13 year son has Downs Syndrome, but it does not stop him from enjoying things. He loves music and big bumps in the road that mom sometimes hits while going to fast, for him almost as good as an amusement park. He just enjoys things no matter what.

For me something that touches my soul besides my 6 precious children, those are sunsets... I just have to stop when I am driving and take pictures and see them. I just can not help myself...

Hugs
Amy

Michelle DeRusha said...

That's one of the great gifts of having young children -- they really do force me to slow down and savor. Often I resist...but when I don't, I don't regret stopping to appreciate and give thanks for God's gifts in the everyday.

Lovely Yolanda -- and such an important reminder in our fast-paced world.

SandyCarlson said...

Children just do it right. I love this photo, too.

Where I work, we are supposed to write up disciplinary referrals for kids who play with snow. I can't do it. I am Mrs. See No Evil when it comes to snow. It has to be touched and enjoyed.

Tea said...

Loved your list and love that quote at the end too! It is such a gift to go through life with eyes open to the beauty that is all around us.

P.S. Thank you for stopping by my blog today and leaving a comment! ♥

Ginny Hartzler said...

Hi Yolanda and welcome to my blog! Was this the first time you visited? Thanks for the comment! Now I must say that I have found some uncanny similarities between us!! For one thing, one of my jobs at church is teaching, and I have taught on people getting their joy back!! The joys we have lost with age, time, and the hardness of life. I believe that comes partially through thankfulness. Your next post down with the butterfly is beautiful beyond words, you are an exceptional photographer. But the poem! I manage and record our church's prayer and information line, and I have recorded that poem on it, I love it. Only I never saw all these verses! I only had about four! Wow! So now I have printed this up and will record it again. Thanks! And I see we have the same taste in music!

Tracy said...

Oh I am so glad you stopped at my blog and I came to your house to visit. Such a beautiful post and I had to smile when I saw the picture of Tilly becuase I've taught children with special needs for 29 years now and I wouldn't trade it for the world. You are so right about their wonder in simplicity as well as their endearing kindness and ability to look at the world with the glass half full.
I have often been described by others as having 'child-like' wonder and havne't decided if that is a good thing of bad thing when labeled by others but I tend to think of it as a positive and I guess really that is all that matters.
I will agree with your list but a few of my own are the grandeur of sunrises and sun sets...how lovely God paints the sky. The sound of my son's laughter...pale pink and yellow roses in a bouquet, being greeted by my two furry friends and the gentle touch of my kittens nose. I love the sound of rain falling on my car roof :)
Wodnerful post and I agree with Cloudia, thank you for feeding our soul!

Sylvia said...

This is such a lovely photo of Tilly, Yolanda !
You can see she's enjoying as if that snow is something magical.
I agree, we must learn to enjoy the little things in life !
Thanks for your nice comment on my blog.
Lovely wishes,
Sylvia

Angie said...

I love this post! Sights, sounds, smells, watching the birds, walking in the woods and standing, gazing up, being beside of water, snow and the silence of snow, oh so many tiny miracles in a day's time if one will only stop, look and listen---sniff as my puppies do..... A wonderful thought-provoking post. Thank you.

Jeanie said...

How beautiful. I've been looking down your posts and enjoying them all -- but this one.

A Crayola bomb spreading happiness. I'd contribute greatly to the R&D of that one.

Rosa said...

What a wonderful picture, indeed. We all need to keep the wonder alive. Thanks for the reminder.

Anonymous said...

What a nice post, Yolanda. I see that it brought joy to others, besides me.

Carolynn Anctil said...

I LOVE the quote! Just thinking about little parachutes of Crayola boxes floating down made me smile!

I'd like to think that I haven't lost my childlike view of the world. I feel such an incredible awe when I witness something in nature, like a deer assessing me from the forest, silent and unafraid. Or, an owl, barely visible in the light of the moon, sweeping it's broad wings in the air above me as it swiftly flies out of a barn door in search of field mice.

Blessings,
Carolynn
P.S. I have a box of Crayola crayons and a colouring book. It's a great way to de-stress.