Below
Sometimes the weather plays games. This day is one where it seems to be overcast and cool, again. A teaser of warmth last week; and a prediction of true heat by next week. The temperature sits at 58 degrees, fahrenheit. Colors are grey above and below, and it is Saturday.
Children have a great way of reminding adults that our perspective misses out on a lot of what is happening - simply because we see things from a different level - above the heads of little ones. A little one has access to shapes and movements that taller ones just overlook - literally. So it takes a determined little person to tug at one who is taller to pay attention. To remember to stay grounded is something people talk about and too often stop at talk, forgetting the walk.
Reading a story book about an imaginary being that sort of looks like a bird, but isn't, and looks like a friendly little dinosaur, but isn't - allowed a different lens to be brought to the things that matter in life. Little ones, for a good amount of time, get to stay focused on what really matters.
Children's stories are a gift to adults who get caught up in the "practical realities" of life and living. In deciding to put down the book about global politics and turning to a story about listening - the smiles returned, the imagination re-opened, and the sweetness in life and goodness came back for a few minutes.
Children have ready access to the worlds that adults too quickly forget as the demands of getting ready to navigate a whole new world of competition, achievement, and contraction. One easily forgets that everyone wants to belong, to be seen and understood, to be happy - if even for a moment as we move along the journey of life.
For those who are fortunate to keep a young spirit alive through all the learning, practicing, training, and striving for their goal - it is a blessing to be forced to stop. That stopping usually happens when suffering arises - a loss of a friend or family member, an illness that prevents "normal" life to go on, the deep disappointment when systems and people fail to produce the very things that one expects. While the events that make a person pause can come in many forms - the effect is often very similar among all.
The pause allows for space to reflect, to plan anew, to imagine what lies ahead.
Children's stories and books allow us entry into that space before anything happens that might force one to stop. Allow yourself to enjoy being transported to another imagined place where deep questions of life are seeking to be answered, with colorful characters, outrageous behaviors and abilities being shared with tenderness and love with the most unlikely of characters. Children's books are no less serious than treatises or tombs about the essential lessons we should learn before we pass into the next realm. And, most children's books have the magical effect of increasing courage, reducing fear, and bringing unimaginable allies along for the ride.