Brennan Manning, in Ruthless Trust, challenges us to contemplation:
“Almost all children are born with a natural inclination toward contemplation – toward long, loving looks at the Real – and a tendency to moments of thoughtful silence. A simple thing may absorb children for a long time. Wiggling their toes, for example, is such an engrossing experience that it is difficult to divert their attention to something else. However, their gift starts to wither when we insist, “Hurry up; I don’t have all day.”
“‘No wonder,’ says Brother David Steindl-Rast, ‘that so many marvelous children turn into dull adults. No wonder that their wholeness is scattered and their sense of mystery lost.'”
“The good news is that the child within can be recovered. It can happen right now, with something as simple as giving a little one a piggyback ride or walking slowly down the street and listening tot he music of what is happening.”
What activity helps you recover the child within you?
Playing in the leaves and doing art projects with my daughter. I am proud to say that it looks like I could have my work displayed in a 3rd grade art show – 23 years after I finished the 3rd grade. I’ve come a long way, baby. :)
Eating a chocolate-marshmallow ice cream cone, without too much wory about getting ickey
Listening patiently to my 6-year-old’s stories. The stories wander, but his delight in the pleasure of talking and thinking up the words is sense-ational experience.