As we approach the holiday of gratitude I find that my childhood revolved around simple pleasures. Many of these activities remain some of my fondest memories.
As we grow we stop being "noticers" of our surroundings. When we are young we are constantly being told to hurry up, come here, or stop doing that. Often times when little ones are moving slowly it's because they are noticing. Look at how green the grass is today. That cloud looks like a teddy bear. Did you see that purple flower? Do you ever wonder what life would be like if we could all slow down a bit to notice our world a bit more? I do.
I have always been a day dreamer. I love making stories up in my head. You can go anywhere and do anything without really moving at all. I often day dream to help myself fall asleep. When I had a commute to work I was always wrapped up in a alternate universe. Don't even get me started about running and day dreaming. It's a way to escape, it's a way to plan for the future, practice what to do in certain situations...I love it.
If anyone knows me, I'm made to go. Being idle drives me crazy. I always want to be thinking, creating, or doing. My mom has known this since I could walk. She was pretty awesome at taking my "noticing" ways and combing it with things to keep me on the go; while finding simple pleasures in our world.
Every Thanksgiving my mom and I would walk to Cherry Street park to collect items for our Cornucopia. I remember the brisk air. The smell of fallen leaves and walnuts. The squirrels chattering as they gathered for the winter. We would spend hours as she let me pick out the perfect leaves, pine cones, acorns, and the like for our centerpiece. We didn't have a traditional Cornucopia instead we used my Grimace Ronald McDonald plate; which was even better in my point of view.
I looked forward to our annual trip to Cherry Street park where I could hunt and forage for the things that I daydreamed would make the most beautiful Cornucopia in the world. This activity allowed my mom and I to spend time together, get fresh air and exercise, and it was free. Most importantly it drove my creativity and resourcefulness and it's a cherished memory that will last a lifetime.
Fast forward to today and everything is commercialized and it needs to stop. Do you know I went to the grocery store at 6am on the day OF Halloween and they already had up all their Christmas decorations? Don't you agree that everything was much more magical when the stores waited until after Thanksgiving to deck the halls. You know what's crazy? I bet we start seeing Valentine's Day candy the 1st of January. What kind of crazy is this?
I will be the first to tell you that I LOVE gifts. I especially love searching for and giving the perfect gift. If I ever give you gift, know that means a lot. But what about gifts that we can create? What about the homemade cards, notes, and Cornucopias? Why do we have to buy everything? What happened to walking and noticing a flower and picking it for the one you love? What happened to looking for the shapes in clouds? What happened to handwritten letters? Sometimes I think technology has gone to far. You know what? I miss the days of only have a home phone. I really hate being so connected to my phone.
So why do we stand for it? Why have we allowed ourselves to stop being noticers? I'd love to you to share what you stop to take time to notice today.
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