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Enjoying the Moment As a kid, it was easy for me to experience joy in the simplest things. A stranger making a funny face at me would make me instantly light up, as I mirrored his silly smile. In my big imagination, an oversized cardboard box was an exciting castle, instead of a burdensome hunk of trash. An amusement park ride that simply went around in a slow-moving circle held more excitement for me than cotton candy and roller coasters. As an adult though, I require more complex and bigger things to experience joy. I’m not sure where along the process of growing up I started to demand more and more to feel joy. But it seems we all universally do. We tend to overlook the delight in simple pleasures as we search eagerly for the next big thing in our lives. Kids seem better at enjoying the moment than adults. A couple of months back, I took my nephews, Sam, 3, and Alex, 2, to the mall. As soon as we entered the double doors near the food court, their little feet ran. They bolted to the place that they had their hearts set upon--the carousel. Trailing ever so ungracefully behind, I nearly toppled over them as their little feet stopped short in front of the magical ride. Both were mesmerized. Watching the shiny, musical display of decorated horses going round, their eyes doubled in size and a burst of glee radiated from their little faces. As they sat on the horse’s back, moving up and down, watching the mall go ‘round and ‘round, their smiles and giggles grew. This was their favorite weekly retreat. And with every visit, I was told later, they reacted to the carousel with the same delight. Their joy brought me back to my childhood. This was a time when sitting on a carved horse’s back watching the people pass me by in a blur made me feel excitement that I have yet to discover again as an adult--until that moment at least. I saw the world through the curious eyes of Sam and Alex, and I was thankfully touched once again with the joy that can only come from simple pleasures. I thank God I have little ones in my life whom I can take to the carousel. These visits with them are my chance to experience the magic of being a kid again. To celebrate the magic of simple pleasures, Carole Rodgers shares a lovely project with us, Carousel Horse.
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