Friday, October 29, 2010

A Four...Almost Five-Year-Old's View of Life

As I write this blog entry I’m sitting on a flight headed to PHX. Doesn’t sound too different than normal, does it? This is a very special trip. My youngest son Jackson is sitting beside me. If you were to ask him his age he’d tell you he’s 4 and will be 5 in a few days. He’s proud of that fact.



On the way to the airport we dropped the car off at an offsite location and took a shuttle in. We sat down and he reminded me that I needed to wear a seatbelt. That’s funny because I don’t remember the busses having seatbelts. I had never noticed that before.



While we were riding in the bus he pointed out all the different offsite parking shuttle busses to me. “Look! That one’s black with yellow spots! Look! That one’s yellow with black spots!” I had never noticed all the different colors of shuttle busses. I knew they were there, but not at that level.



When we arrived into the airport he yelled, “Daddy, we’re going into door 2!” Every time I get to the airport I never look at the door number I enter. “Daddy, this side is different.”



“That’s right.” I said. “It’s red on this side and you’re used to the blue side. “



I must say that each of us get lulled to sleep day after day and miss the details, the extraordinary, and incredible opportunities. We’ve driven the same route to work, went to the same lunch spot, visited the same websites, and on and on and on. We’re left finding very little variety in our day-to-day existence.



It reminds me of Jim Carrey’s character in the movie Yes Man. He lived a very similar life where everything was predictable, ordinary, and lifeless. Later in the movie he chooses to start saying, “Yes” to every opportunity presented to him and finds how exhilarating life can be.



Why do we allow ourselves to get into these mundane routines? Is it because we’re afraid to get out and do something different? Are we intimidated at the thought of tackling hard, challenging things? Or maybe it’s because we live in a culture whose heart is set on comfort and convenience? What is holding you back?

1 comment:

  1. A child's perspective can be enlightening!

    ReplyDelete