Tips for Grownups #5---Find something to marvel at for 5 mins every day!

There is a time in a child's life where they start to see the bigger picture. They start thinking about all the animals in the world, they try and count the stars, they think about the magnitude of things and how much bigger the world is to them. Their perspective begins to expand from their immediate surrounding and into the world at large.

 

 For some kids this is a put down at the shear enormity of the world. For others, this is a challenge. Somehow though, we as adults loose the idea that the world is so much bigger than us. We focus internally and we think we know everything about our world.

There really is no way to know EVERYTHING about the universe and the world around us. There is only one who could know that, and He (or She/They/It depending on what you believe) isn't talking. So why do we adults stop wondering about the world around us? Why do we stop asking the big questions of who/what/when/where and most importantly why?

Because we become jaded. This is no surprise to many, if not all of us. It becomes harder and harder to surprise us because we feel like we've seen it 100 times, or it doesn't concern us. "I've got more important things to worry about", or "Get your head out of the clouds" are the types of things we've all said or heard in our lives. But when we get a glimpse of a picture of some far away place, or of the night sky lit up in all it's splendor, we marvel and wonder in a way we haven't since we were kids. Then we let that feeling slip away, because "we have more important things to worry about."

I'm wondering why doing those "grown up" things have to always be more important than indulging our sense of wonder at the world around us. There are some who realize this and travel the world and really "live". But then there are some who get stuck in the 9-5 and never question what the view of the stars looks like from Mt. Fuji at midnight. Because why should they?  That doesn't concern them.

SO here is my Tip for Grownups for the day:

TIP #5-- Find something to marvel at for 5 mins every day!
Ask yourself why is the sky blue, or why is the grass green! Go to the planetarium and see the show on the universe. Find a way to learn more about something you've been curious about and just never gave yourself the time to learn. And it doesn't have to involve a trip to Mt. Fuji to see the stars at midnight. It could be just stepping out on your back porch and wondering which constellations you happen to be looking at. Or realizing on your drive home from work that the clouds look amazing in the setting sun and you pull over to spend 5 minutes to just enjoy the view. Turn off the "monkey brain" going through all of the things you need to get done once you get home or once you get to work tomorrow. Something you can do EVERYDAY is take 5 minutes to step outside, or away from your desk somehow, and just take in your environment. Is there something there you never noticed before? What does the wind REALLY feel like on your face? Are there any shapes in the clouds? What is the sunlight doing with the colors on the clouds? Find a way to take yourself out of the "monkey brain" that is telling you all of the things you need to get done and just clear your mind. It's OK if it is hard, because as adults our brains are solidified much more than children and it's harder to develop habits. But keep trying and see what you notice about the world around you!

And remember to PLAY!

Tip for Grown Ups #4- WOW 3 YEARS LATER!

So holy smokes finding this after almost three years!! It was good looking back at the last three posts and remembering why I started this blog. I'm stuck in a basic 9-5 job, stuck on the hamster wheel that is paying bills, and any number of mundane things that hold us back from enjoying life. Not saying that I don't enjoy life though. I've got great friends, great family, and a great non-work passion : DUST TO DUST: A BRIEF HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE. (yeah shameless plug!)

 

It's always an uplifting thing for me when I stumble across things from the old days like this blog. Seeing where I was, realizing how far I've come. A friend was just talking to me last night and pointing out some great things in my life at a time when I was really being down on myself.

 

I was recently introduced to the Dreamworks Pictures movie "Rise of the Guardians".

(picture property of Dreamworks)

 

I know it's an animated movie, but sometimes these kids movies are more important for us adults to watch. Since for some, the message needs to be a bit more blunt or obvious to get through our thick adult skulls.

 

In the movie we meet Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost. Each is a guardian of children in some way. Santa provides and protects the wonder in children, Easter bunny protects the hope, Sandman the dreams. I was trying to understand what the Tooth Fairy protects, and I guess it has to be the memories of childhood (since that is what she explicitly explains to Jack as a part of the plot line.) She explains to Jack that it isn't the Teeth they collect that is important, but the memories they hold. They protect the teeth because when we need help remembering what is truly important, they help us. So basically what they say is that what is truly important to remember are the memories of childhood.

 

So here is the tip for today, :

TIP #4- REMEMBER WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT. Take a moment today or in the next few days and look back at old pictures of yourself. From college, or high school, or even elementary school. Look at what you were doing 10-20-30 years ago and see how far you've come. See what you valued back then and think about why that has changed. What was your favorite childhood memory? Take a moment to breath today and think on that.

 

 

And always remember to PLAY!