Quit Reaching?

When I was about 12 years old, I was helping my dad work out in the garage, when a big hot air balloon glided low over our house. I knew it was about to touch down, so I grabbed the first bike I could find and raced off down the road to see it close up. Sure enough, it landed in a field and I spent a couple minutes talking to the driver and watching them deflate it. When I had my fill, I rode back home, just then realizing that I had left my dad in the middle of our task. As I came into the garage where he was working, he asked me,"Did you see it?" I was a little taken back. So I sheepishly said, "Yeah, but I am sorry for leaving in the middle of work." But my dad never missed a beat. "You don't have anything to be sorry about. I want you to feel free to explore."

There is no end to the joy it brings a child to hear that from a parent. Because it is in our nature from birth to observe, test, try and ask questions. Every child is enthralled by what is new, which is just about everything. But most of the time, they don't simply ask about it, they want to touch it. I lovingly refer to it as full contact learning. And it is the best way to learn, in my humble opinion. Don't just tell me how to do something, show me and then get out of the way because I want to try.

The danger is when we lose this. The desire and willingness to learn and explore. It is easy to become stagnant and quit asking questions; to quit reaching. When I took the picture of the boy below, I was simply watching him while the rest of the family was in the other room. He was waddling around the kitchen when something caught his eye. Something had glinted in the light, maybe even winked at him to get his attention. Now some lesser child may pass this off as nothing, but not this boy. He had to figure out what it was. As he approached, he saw that he might just be able to reach it if he stretched. So he came up alongside the towering wall of appliance and reached out his hand to touch the unknown, shiny object. And with that, he was introduced to the buttons on the dishwasher.

It might seem a little exaggerated, but I don't think so. Maybe some of us could do with a little more wonder in our lives. A little more exploratory adventure and a little more desire to reach for what we might not be able to touch. I know I could.

Reaching for the Shiny Button, Jackson, TN