WONDERMENT
Driving along one day H++ spotted a rainbow and was totally amazed. We both enjoyed a few long but glorious minutes gazing at the rainbow, appreciating all its magical wonder. I couldn't tell you the last time I spent looking at a rainbow for that long. This got me thinking - how H++ has inspired a new perspective and appreciation of life's simple things. It starts with a complete innocence in seeing something for the first time, to a deep exploration with this new fascination that she embraces with pure liberty and joy. It's infectious and as much as I know there's an inner child in me, H++ brings it out in full force. Like a lot of young children, H++ loves to pick flowers and bring them home for mummy and daddy (and Grandma or Oma if they're also visiting). She delights in their smell, colour and prettiness. We've had more flowers in the house these days than ever before and I must say, it's pretty nice. I'm going to have to start taking her to the flower market so our neighbours can maintain their gardens! Colour is another everyday wonder that is easily overlooked, but H++ is obsessed with it. She loves to know what your favourite colour is and defines things mostly by their colour. When we might say a boat is blue, because 80% of its colour is blue, H++ would say it's blue and red and black. She notes every colour and detail. How often would we normally look at something for its colour? I mean, deeply look at its colour. This is beyond the blue sky, the green trees, the grey building... We have more conversations about colours than food in our household. It's a big deal and it's inspiring me to consider the magnitude of colour in the world that surrounds us. And then there's those hidden pleasures that we can be excused doing because we have children, like jump in puddles, be noisy, dance wildly in public, pull silly faces, you know what I mean. And I take full advantage of this! Why not? Bush walks are also a big thing, because there's sticks and leaves and ants and rocks to climb... Every detail is a wonder. A walk outside no longer becomes just that. There's so much to explore. The biggest discovery, at the moment at least, is how "The Why Question" can really expand your thinking. Although it's painful at times, we really try to answer it without generalisation or shrugging it off (even knowing at least three more "why's" will succeed). It's important to us to explain our answers thoughtfully and with as much knowledge as possible (we assume this has it’s benefits later on). And when the "Why?" comes after an idea that is normality to your life, what you're accustomed to, it begs you to pause a moment and actually reflect that very simple question. We now ask ourselves the "Why?" more often. On some level, we are challenged on the way we live our lives, we reflect our choices and look for alternative ways - as there's always another way or reason. We also learn how to articulate these big ideas for little 3 year old minds so they can understand. No doubt the "Why" stage is a difficult stage but it can also be enlightening on so many levels. All of these things and more I am thankful for. And this is just the beginning... x Katy Photo: Katy Green Loughrey Photography