Lesson from my son: Take time to appreciate the beauty in everything around you!

After picking my son up from his daycare, there were several stops I had to make, and I wanted to hurry and get those errands done while it was still daylight, and before the weather got bad, as storms were forecast for later in the evening.  As I’m driving from the daycare, stuck in a line of traffic on the way to the grocery store, I look in my review mirror, and I see Daniel looking out the window with his eyes gazing upward.

I ask, “What are you looking at Daniel, the sky?”  “Yes”, he says, “those clouds are white…and those are gray.”  He goes on, “those leaves are red and yellow”, as he pointed to some trees lining the street.   I said, “Yes, Daniel, that means its fall, the leaves turn yellow and brown and red, as the season changes to fall….see, we get less light from the…”  Daniel interrupts, “That’s MY leaf right there, Daddy”, as he points out the window at a particular yellowish-reddish leaf, nestled between some a group of green leaves on one of the trees, “which one is YOUR leaf, Daddy?”

Immediately understanding the significance of this conversation, I paused, looked at the line of trees, and pointed to another yellow leaf on the same tree, “that’s MY leaf right there, Daniel”, I replied, to which he stated, “those leaves are ours, Daddy”.

Now, totally oblivious to the traffic jam, the errands I needed to run…in all of my haste to hurry, rush, avoid the storm, get to the grocery store…hurry while there, get to the mall…hurry while there, hurry, hurry, rush, get there, get to the next place…etc., I paused in appreciation of the beautiful trees and sky all around me, and in gratitude for another wonderful connection I made with my son, and yet another lesson he has taught me.

As we parked at the grocery store, I got Daniel out of the car, and instead of taking my hand as he normally does, and walking toward the store, he stopped, walked 2 feet over to the curb next to the car, where a pile of yellow leaves were lined around it.  He began to laugh and shuffle his feet in the leaves, and had a smile on his face that would melt the polar ice cap.  “Look, Daddy…leaves!”  Again, I forgot all about the store, and what I had to do, and where I had to go.  I walked over to Daniel and began to shuffle my feet in the leaves along with him.  And in that 30-seconds, I remembered, that THIS was life…and not the hustle and rush of my so-called “have-to-dos”.    

The Lesson:

In our daily rush, to get here and there in this world, it is so important to pause and really experience the beauty that is all around you every day…which we often take for granted…because we are so used to it…we’ve seen these things so many times before.  But everything is so new to a young child, and they cannot help but look in awe at the beauty all around them.   They cannot help but pause and experience as much of it as possible.    While I was trying to teach my son about the seasons, and why they exist, the better lesson was, “Yes, those are our leaves…see the colors and how beautiful they are!” and, “Daniel, when you see those leaves…how do they make you feel?”  

Dads…along with the lessons of reading, math, how things work and why…we should be sure to instill within our kids, the deeper lessons of experiencing beauty, loving all of creation, not taking things or people for granted, gratitude, how to understand your feelings, etc.  I believe these lessons, help children exponentially, especially later in life when it comes to dealing with obstacles, leadership, appreciation and gratitude.