When you are where you are meant to be.... things flow.

Yesterday was a strange day. It was my first day after (finally) finishing the uni term, a uni term that had damn near traumatised me. Last term I took on fulltime uni as we had settled into Kalgoorlie to work for 6 months or so and Zac had just started daycare two days a week. However - that "plan" (like many, when you become a parent) was not to be.

Zac instantly hated daycare... He cried from the moment we dropped him off until the moment we picked him up. His teachers were stressed because he seemed to be the "exception" to the whole "Oh, he will be laughing and playing (and stop crying) as soon as you're out ther door", instead - he was very consistant for a couple of weeks at two days a week. We realised this was causing him ALOT of stress and his teachers were having trouble giving him the support he needed because they simply hadn't experienced such a consistantly sad child.

This led to us pulling him out of daycare, I mean - I enjoy every moment with my son. When he is in daycare I miss him terribly. I (honestly) only sent him because it is the "thing you do" but my husband pointed out that alot of our life decisions go against that grain so if I love being with Zac and dont mind having him home full time, then why send him to daycare when he clearly isnt settling in? We believe that he wasnt settling in because of our lifestyle and always moving around, as he previously LOVED his "home-daycare" he used to attend (read: this would have been an entirely different situation if he had have settled in happily - he would still be attending now).

Thus the decision was finalised, and although my time alone went down to basically zero, my uni workload persisted. This lead to a very stressful term for me! I experienced alot of guilt because there were many times I had to just give up and sit Zac in front of the TV so that I could get some work done (those who know me know that I am the kinda mum whom is ALWAYS playing with her child and teaching him things and going outdoors with him when we are together) so this all added to both of our stress levels, which then bounced off eachother even more so.

Anyway, I woke up yesterday with no uni work and was just baffled... We got up slowly and casually, I washed some dishes, tidied the van, got ontop of the washing. Then we went and caught up with some friends we have met here in Kalgoorlie, THEN we came home... and relaxed??!?!?!?!?

..... it was BLISSFUL!

We made the bed so it was nice and neat, then layed on the bed, under the aircon and played cars, puzzles, lego, flash cards, dominoes, for hours. It felt so good to just be able to enjoy Zac again and play with him with my attention all on him. Then around 5:30 in the afternoon I took him for a big walk around Boulder while the sun started to get lower in the sky. Would you believe that after all of this attention, busy day etc. he fell STRAIGHT to sleep when I put him to bed. Wow, It all just felt so right, like it is the way its meant to be for us - like everything was flowing naturally again. (the last three weeks zac has experienced a major sleep regression, thats why this sleep "thing" has been massive for us now).

I hadnt realised how much my desire to get a qualification was affecting Zacs life. I knew I took on too much but I didnt realise how much my inability to keep up with it all was responsible for all of the massive changes Zac has been experiencing lately. With this thought in mind; life feels so blissful again. I love enjoying Zac and making the most of every second I have with him, so I am so happy to get to experience that again.

Today it has been the same, a nice relaxing morning with a little bit of housework. Then the day is ours, to play and learn together, to enjoy eachothers company and experience life together. I feel so lucky to be in a position to be home with my son all the time, I feel grateful that I enjoy his company so much and that I get to really teach him the basics aswell as about life and the world.

So today I am a little "high on life", I feel really happy, relaxed, at ease and inspired. I feel energised and ready to really be the mum I always wanted to be. I know my son would be proud of me in years to come if I could stand up and say "I singlehandedly finished a FULLTIME uni degree in just a few years, while raising my child and having a husband working extremely long hours. Because of this I was able to take on a high paying job and buy my son everything he could have dreamed of", but I know I am raising a child whom would be prouder to be able to say "my mum taught me the ABC, to read, to write, to play and how to be a good person, she was always there when I needed her and my memories are of her time, not of objects".

I feel so grateful for everything my life has brought to me. There have been some substantially tough times, but they have only intensified my desire to sieze the moment, be with my husband and son and experience a simple, happy life.

Mum, can I help?

Mum, can I help?

‘Mum, can I help?’ – This is the sentence I hear the absolute most from my 3 year old son at home.  It doesn’t seem to matter what I am doing – he wants to help. If he spots me wiping down a bench, mopping floors, baking, tidying or just ‘pottering around’ doing a little bit of everything, he VERY excitedly runs up and asks to help.

Like most mothers I find my days pretty busy ( and most of the time I like that), because of this I found myself trying to rush to get my ‘jobs’ done so that I can have downtime with my son. So I was always responding to my son ‘just let mummy do it mate, then I’ll come and play with you’.

This seemed fine, he never became upset about not being able to help me so it was never something I gave any further thought - until recently. A week or so ago when my uni workload lessened and I found myself with a bit of extra time on my hands – I decided to slowwwww right down.

Zac and I at Ayers rock

I slowed down so much that I started to actually think before I responded to my sons’ requests to help me. When I thought about it I realised that my mum was often disappointed in our disinterest in helping out once we were older. I started wondering if my significantly, efficient mum had perhaps found herself doing the same thing as me – focussing on getting those seemingly “mindless” tasks like cleaning out of the way quickly, in order to have “quality time” for her children.

So I trailed off with my thoughts and began to wonder if maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal to include Zac in these tasks, to teach him skills like cooking, cleaning, tidying, folding, sorting, packing, washing (clothing and dishes) at his own pace, when his own interest spikes and at such a young age. That way he will become capable at such tasks and also develop an understanding of the domestic duties running a household requires.

So this morning Zac said “Mum, what are you doing” and I responded “I’m putting the washing in the machine so I can wash it”, then came the question “mum, can I help?” What did I say? I said “YES”. He then picked up the clothing items I had placed in the basket on the floor, he loaded them all in the washing machine and with direction he took a scoop of powder and tipped it in, pressed the buttons and started the machine. When the load was finished he was EXCITED to hear the beep (can you believe that? Lol) and because he couldn’t reach the line he requested that he could pass me each peg while I hung the washing out. It was actually really nice to have the company and bring a fresh new light to the world of housework.

Zac washing the dishes for the first time when we were in Darwin, we had to re-wash every one of them once he was in bed but he still enjoyed helping.

Not only does this kind of (voluntary) involvement in the housework teach Zac new skills, it also increases his confidence in himself and what he is capable of. Since that task he has requested (and proceeded) to help me measure, mix and bake a batch of coconut macaroons and ginger bread men, helped me put away the washing and we swept the annex together.

During all of this Zac was so happy and excitable but at the same time he slowed down and genuinely listened to and processed the instructions I gave him. He seemed to feel really satisfied at the end of each task and immediately asked me for something else to help with.

Even though his help can slow things down a lot and make simple tasks quiet tedious, ultimately, I do have the time for that and if that’s what he wants to do and he finds fun at the time than I don’t think he is missing any of the “quality time” he is giving up by missing out on a few of those minutes and hours of sitting on the floor playing with plastic toys together. Not that I will let my domestic responsibilities take away our play time.

I love to teach Zac accountability as a method of discipline. For example if he throws a tantrum that involves knocking his drink on the floor (or something else messy) once he has calmed down I will direct him to the cupboard to get a cloth, then have him clean up the mess he has made. This seems to be far more effective than a punishment that doesn’t actually correlate with the situation he has created. We offer him help and if he accepts than we get a cloth and also help him but he has to be involved too. I guess that including him in domestic tasks (or any tasks for that matter) when he requests, is in the same vein. Some of the other tasks he requests to help with (and we allow him to by finding jobs he CAN do) are:

• Fixing the car with his dad – Brent will have him pass him tools and will explain what he is doing
• Baking – he loves baking and we bake together several times a week
• Carrying things – at the supermarket we allow him to carry a basket with a loaf of bread (or something equally light) if he requests to.
• Feeding and caring for our guinea pig – this is another way to teach him responsibility aswell as how to be gentle.
• Sorting – he will sort through his belongings and our belongings with us to choose what we will donate to charity

And many other small tasks like collecting our mail, taking the rubbish out, making our beds, sweeping, washing the car etc.

Zac helping daddy fix the car

I am really enjoying working together and I am enjoying not only his company but the educational aspect of it. I won’t be forcing him into housework as I completely respect that that is my responsibility (and it doesn’t bother me at all) but from now on, when he asks to help, I won’t think twice! It’s a beautiful opportunity to spend even more time together and teach him about tasks his future will most definitely involve.

Giving so much yet receiving even more.

I have found myself thinking alot lately about people less fortunate than us. I hate the thought of people 'going without' when my family has such an abundance of 'things' (despite living in a caravan).

Where am I going with this?
I took some time this week to go through our caravan. I somehow managed to find an entire box of books, close to 6 bags of clothing (mine, Brents and Zacs) and a few toys, houshold items etc. I put it all in boxes and donated it to a wonderful local woman whom distributes the good she recieves among local, struggling families, nearby aboriginal communites and multiple charities.

This got me thinking about what we need V's what we dont need
I realised that my son had draws of clothes (two VERY deep draws and the top half of a wardrobe, to be exact). He has this same amount (and somtimes more) every year (for every different size) and for the warm and cold seasons. The more I thought about this the more excessive it seemed to me. I mean, he barely even gets to through the top three items of each pile and they are all at least ten, maybe fifteen items deep.

Yet there are children out there with hardly any clothing
There are so many children I see around from families whom struggle to make ends meet, from local aboriginal communities and children that have runaway from home, or young teenagers whom have children and also struggle to make ends meet. Yet my son, Brent (my husband) and I, have wardrobes full of clothing we dont even wear one tenth of.

What can you and your family do without?
Im sure you have things in your home you could do without. Things you dont use anymore or things you bought "just incase" but know you wont use. Things that were given to you as gifts or given to your children but are no longer used. These things not only take up space in your house but owning them takes up space in your mind (remember, at any given time you can respond to someone if they ask if you own a particular item, even if its out of your sight or hasnt been used in years, this means that all of those bits and pieces laying around in your house are taking up precious space in your mind, being stored up there so you can remember them if you ever need to reference them or use them).

Getting rid of these items, downsizing your childrens toys, your wardrobes, the "bits and bobs" in your numberous 'junk draws', wont just free up space in your house, it will take away some of the clutter from inside your mind. Why do you think it always feels so great when you fill a trailor load to go to the tip or fill the back seat of your car with items to go to charity? Those items are no longer needing to be organised and retained in your mind.

Books and toys
Our children accumulate so many books and toys over the years. They get more of them for Christmas and birthdays yet the old ones stick around too. So many children go without gifts, go without toys and books. These small, seemingly 'silly' items can bring so much joy to children experiencing adverse living situations or tough times financially for their family.

Clear out before santa comes
Have you ever thought about clearing out before santa comes? Rather than keeping all of the older, outdated, no longer used or no longer age appropriate books and toys can create more room. I make a point of going through my sons toys for items that are no longer age appropriate for him. These are the type of toys that are made for children a little younger (like he was when I bought them) the kind of toys that are find for a small, less coordinated two year old, but a rowdy three year old will simply break as opposed to enjoy. I take these toys out when the new, more grown up toys come in at special times of the year. Then I can donate the no longer age appropriate toys, to other children, still in great condition.

This means that other children are able to enjoy them, I have recycled, I have potentially given children gifts whom may not have recieved them (and therefore put a smile on their face), ive taught my son about being generous and humble and I've also create room in our home, lives, time, and minds for new, age appropriate toys and books.

What about all of that food?
We all have them... Those various, random jars and tins at the back of our pantry. The items we bought on sale when we seen those alluring yellow signs stating "two for one" and so on. I had so much food in our van that I not only had a full pantry with jars and packets of food (aswell as overhead cabinets full of baking ingredients) - I also had a 55 litre plastic tub (or two) in my annex full of food. I went through and donated all of the excess items. They were being wasted sitting there, they were things we had bought incase of needing extra food one week, but had never used. There were tinned versions of items we are able to afford to buy fresh, there were tinned soups but now i have learned how to make my own, there were graxy mixes (but now I make my own from scratch) same goes for spaghetti sauces, pasta sauces, prepackaged flavoured pastas etc. All of the things I have learned to (and now prefer to) make myself, from scratch.

So I decided to donate them all to a local food bank. I donated an entire 55 litre tub and I was informed that it was promtly delivered to a family who honestly didnt know how they were going to eat that week. They had small children and like all of us experience at some point in our lives - were struggling financially. These items would have sat in our pantry, even though we already had enough food to last weeks, maybe even a month or two. While a family could have been sitting at their table wondering how they would feed their children.

You may not having any items to give?
How about your time? Its true what they say - time is precious. If you have a few hours to spare why not donate them to a worthy cause. You can search (online or locally) to find somthing that suits you, your age, your capabilities, your time, commitments etc. There is a charity option for everyone. You dont have to give items, you can give a helping hand. You can volunteer to help young mothers learn domestic skills, to teach craft to aboriginal children in outback communities, to read stories to children, to have a chat with the elderly, to plant trees or care for animals. There are so many ways to give back to the community that gives so much to you.

The emptyness makes me smile
I look around our caravan and our wardrobes are no longer overstuffed (they are infact half empty), yet we are comfortably clothed, Our kitchen cupboards and draws are no longer jammed with unused utencils and food items but our stomachs are full. My son isnt lost in a sea of toys, yet he is entertained and content. All of the things we have given away have not taken a thing away from our life but have potentially brought some joy to someone elses.

Dont hold onto it

Why sit there, with all of these unused items, for no reason, when they could bring joy and comfort to the lives of others. Knowing you have helped people can also bring joy and comfort to your own life.

Christmas is a time for giving, what can you give?

The way our relationships have changed as a result of living on the road.

My husband and I
I like to think that my husband and I have a phenomenal relationship (with ups & downs, of course). We work hard to be honest and compassionate with each-other and we focus really heavily on being happy, above everything else. We share a lot of the same goals, focuses and morals which helps our relationship to stay equal and accommodating for both of us. My husband and I enjoy being together (as I’m sure everyone else does with the spouse) so our main priority of this trip was “time” – for each other, our son and the three of us as a family.

When Brent (my husband) worked a demanding job, fulltime and we lived in suburbia, we felt like we had so little time together. However now that we live in the van our situation has forced us to realise that we had too many “distractions” during those important moments that should have been ours. Im sure many of you can relate to the idea of coming home from work and tuning out in front of the TV once the kids are tucked into bed. We fell into that pattern (due to exhaustion). Now that we live in the van – watching television is a very rare occurrence for us.

When nightfall hits we tuck our son in bed then eat our dinner together, under the stars. We then stay sitting outside and talk and talk and talk and before we know it it’s time to get to bed. We have so much time to talk to each other, learn more about each other, plan our future, and discuss our dreams – more time to connect. This “time” together is completely free from distractions and is so valuable to us; it’s one of the wonderful by-products of this lifestyle.  

My son and I

My son and I have more time together than I ever imagined having with my child. I am able to really focus on teaching him things, fostering a love for the environment and a compassion for others, purely because I have so much time and inspiration. Once again, our quality time is uninterrupted and outside with fresh air and endorphins flowing.

We explore entirely new areas and learn together and because of that he develops an added confidence and understanding of what he sees and experiences. We do things in our own time with minimal temporal commitments, so we are free to let our imaginations flow, some-days until the sun goes down and it is time for bed.

Because this lifestyle is so different to the norm and may not necessarily be as controlled or secure as a normal childhood environment we find ourselves working harder to include him in decisions and the formation of ideas or plans. Our days allow for his input and we have the time to explore the things the three year old mind considers logical. This increases his self-confidence and encourages him to speak up and add input where he sees fit. Although the ideas of a three year old aren’t always achievable/logical (e.g. Flying to the moon on a Sunday afternoon) sometimes they prove to be fun, exciting and rejuvenating and they always make our day a little different to how we expected it to be.

This lifestyle is a fantastic way to take your children away from distractions and the “busy-ness” of everyday life and really get to know them. It’s a beautiful experience and it really enhances your relationship with them.

Us as a family

As a family we have come to really depend on each other, after all when we are in the middle of nowhere, alone we don’t have anyone else to depend on! I went from just being my husband’s wife to becoming his drinking buddy, apprentice, best mate and competition (He loves competitive games we even competed on the way out to Ayers Rock to see who could spot it first – I won!). He has become my “girlfriend”, confidante, dance partner and chick-flick-companion among other things. To Zac we have willingly become his “play-mates” his buddies, his “taste testers” (for the latest play dough creations) and his teachers.

We depend on each other a lot and we bring so much to each other’s lives. Only having “us” for support has meant that we have had to further develop our abilities to be selfless and understanding when the other person/s may need some extra care or support even if we’re not feeling up to it. We understand and respect that when one person is unwell the other person has no choice but to take on the responsibilities. We also understand that what we have is special and beautiful and we are extremely lucky to feel so close and connected.

If you choose to live this (or any more “family- time focussed”) lifestyle you will find that for every negative there is a positive. For every shred of normalcy and routine your life lacks you will emotionally regain a new level of dependence and understanding with your family or travel companion. For every moment you miss out on with others (and sadly there are many) you can focus on the moments you are gaining with your family.

We dont always make make the "best" or the "right" decisions but the decisions we make nearly always lead to us being happier and more content. Dont be afraid to put happiness first and chase it! As long as it isnt at the expense of others than you have no reason to not be happy.

There is so much you need to sacrifice physically and mentally to live this kind of a lifestyle but it brings an unimaginable amount of joy and contentment to your life, which is worth more than any item you could own.

Budget friendly Christmas Craft for kids

I try to do an art or craft project with my son (Zac) every day, sometimes they are as simple as drawing with pencils/painting and other days we make collages with things like leaves or different items from our craft kit. I absolutely love craft (probably more so than my son) but not the “adult kinds” like scrapbooking etc. because I am far too messy to make anything that is actually presentable or even remotely artistic. Craft is a brilliant activity to do with your children, even just once a week or whenever you have time. It allows them to explore their imagination, learn new skills and ideas, develop their fine motor skills and it also gives them valuable quality time with you.

For Zacs birthday I made him a “craft box” I simply bought small bits and pieces (mainly from cheap shops like “Crazy Clarks”) like paints, feathers, sequins, glue, texta’s, paddle pop sticks, googly eyes and anything else I could find. It didn’t cost much and it’s a great gift for family and friends to “build on” for your child’s birthdays and Christmas. We have built his “craft box” up over the last year and a half and it now takes up an entire 55 litre plastic container (and gives us hours of enjoyment). But you don’t have to have a lot of craft supplies to be able to make amazing creations.

We ended up finding these nifty little cases for quite cheap at Super Cheap Auto so we bought two of them to house the “collage items”. These cases make the items far easier for Zac to look over and make his own choice about what he would like to work with. They are a great way to organise your child’s craft supplies.

Today we decided on some “Christmas craft”, we decided to make our own Christmas decorations. I googled recipes for dough that could be cooked (and solidified) then painted and it came back with this recipe:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons oil

4 tablespoons cream of tarter

1 cup of water

We threw it all in together (adding extra flour or water when needed) mixed it up, rolled it out and then ‘went to town’ with our cookie cutters! Once Zac had cut out all the shapes he wanted, we poked holes in them (for the ribbon) and put them on a baking tray in the oven set to 180 degrees until they were brown/solid.

We then painted them all with beautiful colours and decorated them with glitter and sequins in the Christmas colours, then added the ribbon. Try to excuse the white "glue marks" all over them as I took this photo before they had dried completely. We are going to send these out with Zacs framed Santa photo to Zac’s grandparents and aunts and uncles. They are a simple, cheap gift that you could give out straight from your child! My sons  only three but I am sure that your older children could do alot more intricate designs and you could always seal them with a quick spray of clear coat to make them last for a long time.

The decorations pictured above are some we made a few weeks ago, they are simple and very budget friendly. All we did was paint pictures using mostly Christmas colours, let the paintings dry then cut out Christmas ornament shapes. We then glued glitter and sequins on and used a sparkly pipe cleaner to hang them. You could use chopped up bits of paper from magazines/packaging etc to decorate them and leftover ribbon to hang them.

Another budget friendly craft project we did recently was this nature collage. We “made a day” out of this one by spending part of the day walking through gardens and bushlands near a local park, collecting leaves, gumnuts and dirt. We then went home and cut out the backboard from the side of a Froot Loops box, we covered the cardboard with PVA glue and Zac stuck all the different nature items onto the page (while we talked about where they came from and what they were).

Another of our budget friendly craft projects involves a lot of cardboard boxes. I collect EVERY cardboard box (all shapes and sizes) from any grocery items, tissues, toilet rolls, egg cartons, gifts etc. then once we have a big collection we will spend one day assembling (with masking tape) robots, cars and anything else we think of. The next day we will paint them all. Then on the third day when they are all dry my son will spend the majority of an entire day playing with them. That’s three days worth of exciting activities for the cost of a little conscious recycling!

Children can learn so much from simple craft projects and there are so many different ways to enjoy these activities with your child. There is a craft activity for every budget!

Tomorrow its my birthday so here are ten things I have learnt this year.

Tomorrow its my birthday, I am turning 25, a quarter of a centuary. Whoah! I find myself wondering how I got here, it feels like just yesterday I was nineteen years old and my life was dedicated to vodka and pubs and not much else. Now here I am, a mother, a student a wife, wow. Ive accomplished so much in my life and I am not afraid to say that. But I have to honestly say that I am as proud of myself for the years of letting my hair down, partying and not taking life seriously as I am for the years of having a child and studying a uni degree and loving a husband.

Its so easy to "blame" our downfalls in the past as the causers of the bad times right now. But ultimately without every bad experience we wouldnt have made it to the corresponding good experience. Both go hand in hand and I understand and respect that.

So, what *have* I learnt over the past year?

1) Tradgedy can and will strike at any time, it also may define your future, but it is certainly up to you whether that definition is positive or negative. Learn and grow from negative and traumatic experiences.

2)There is beauty in everything and every person, but somtimes you have to look a little harder than others. When you do look a little harder (and perhaps work a little harder to see it) you'll see it in an even more beautiful light than others before you.

3) Children. Know. Everything, they truly do. I mean - everything about how to be happy. If your a mother an aunt an uncle a grandparent - WATCH and learn from the juniors. They can teach you so much about the beauty of the world and finding simplistic joy even when everything seems bleak.

4) No matter how hard you try to be original, you will always find someone just like you. Thats not a bad thing and thats not somthing that you make you "try harder" to be different. You should take comfort in sharing your interests with others.

5) Your family, although you are genetically programmed the same as them, you WILL grow into your own person. You will end up making choices they dont like and vice versa. There comes a point in your life where you have to actively choose to accept or reject them and when you make that choice you must be prepared to live with the consequences and take the good with the bad. Regardless of which option you choose.

6) We should let children, be children, why they are still children. We all grow up so fast and once your childhood is over it really is. I understand that decisions we make for our children now COULD impact there future in all sorts of ways but if every choice you make for your child is born of love, compassion and keeping them safe - you really cannot go wrong. Let children be children, dont push them and frighten them. Let them enjoy those 15 or so years before the *real world* starts.

7) My husband will always do things that piss me off. Its upto me to choose which ones of those are worth arguing over - otherwise we would always be arguing. This year I have learnt ALOT about how it isnt always best to get my own way. I have learnt alot about stepping back and letting others make the choices and pave the way. Ive learnt to let things go, small things like the washing ending up next to, as opposed to IN the basket. Who care's?. Once I almost left my husband over him not washing the dishes, honestly. I made it such a big deal in my head "he isnt washing them because he doesnt love me" (somehow I moulded it back to that idea. Honestly, how would one explain that kind of a decision to their child down the track? Especially considering I love pretty much everything about my husband and Ive never met a person Ive had more laughs and fun with. Gosh, let things go. Let it be.

8) There is so much more to life then dollars and cents. My husband now works entirely to save enough so we can then (not work) and live poor, in our caravan, by a beach somewhere. We always have enough saved for emergencies, for our son, for our bills etc. Thats all we need. If you consider every moment your partner misses out on with his family (or perhaps every moment you miss out on) because of work commitments, consider each moment as a dollar. Then you will spend your dollars alot more carefully. Stand at the register and look at that set of candle holders in your hand and think "These may make the mantlepiece look pretty but nothing is quiet like listening to my husband giggle in the backyard with the kids".

9) You always have to miss someone to have what is RIGHT for you. It will hurt, leaving people and watching people leave you but you cannot follow someone elses journey or stay behind from your own just for the people you will miss. It hurts us, alot, being away from our families year round, but this journey is what we want and we have to focus on that. We also are liberated by the fact that we have the ability to hitch the van on the back of the ute and drive to where they are for a few weeks if we really need to see them.

10) Life. Goes. By. FAST. with every birthday I am baffled at how fast that year came around. You cant stop it, you cant slow it down. All that you have the ability to do is to fill each minute with more joy, each hour with more fun and each day with more love. The more you utilise those moments the less robbed you will feel when another year has passed by. Make the most of every moment. In big and small ways.

Positive thinking by seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

I was walking on the beach with my two and a half year old son this morning. We were wandering around sifting through the sand for shells. I would search and search to find the prettiest, most perfect unbroken shells then I would pick them up and show them to him and talk about how beautiful they were, their color, shape and size. Eventually he began picking up shells too and genuinely exclaiming over their beauty, describing their colors and talking about how special he thought they were. He seemed in awe of the shells and their beauty, which was wonderful.


Then came an extremely humbling realization, all of the shells he picked up were broken, faded, cracked or simply just tiny fragments of what I am certain would have been magnificent whole shells prior to them breaking down. Yet to this small boy unaffected by the emotions and opinions of the adult world, these fragmented shells were of extraordinary beauty and were just as special and worthy of collection as any of my perfect handful that I so carefully selected.

 I know it's a completely unoriginal idea to try and asses your surroundings, the world you live in through childlike eyes with only childlike opinions but I have to say, to me, this was the most clear example of that concept I could ever have experienced. To me this was not just a beautiful moment but a fundamentally important life lesson. A lesson about the obvious need to slow down and really experience the world. It was also a lesson about allowing yourself to soak up beauty in all of it's natural forms not just the refined images presented by the media.

When you look at the world through childlike eyes and you process it through a childlike mind it's like attaching a sieve to your brain, the horrible things, the problems, the constraints of time and financial obligations cease to exist. Suddenly stopping to smell the flowers along the side of the pathway becomes more important than than arriving at your destination on time. putting chocolate cake mix on each others noses and licking it off through fits of giggles becomes more important than baking the perfect cake and eating it after you have finished all your vegetables. Suddenly the concept of fear of death or illness dissipates and you begin to experience the rejuvenating feeling of childlike energy and young blood pulsing through your veins.

  

You let go of all the pain and sadness and even though it's momentary, it's blissful and reassuring. Faith is restored and subconscious storage areas within your being are topped up with love and excitement and positivity. Your dormant imagination is slowly ticking back into action and even though the cogs are creaking the motions are taking you further into a captivating world of innocence and fun.

Exploring the world and accepting it into your mind with childlike innocence seems so foreign and difficult to many people, and even to those who see it as simple - implementing it into their lives rarely proves as simple as it seems. Were naturally inclined to over think things especially when we know they have the capacity to change our lives for the better. But as with any healing or enlightening change, you should allow it to naturally flow into your life. Don't try to remind yourself to focus on adapting the changes into your life. Don't think at all, just slow down. Walk a little slower, look a little wider, hug a little longer and chat a little 'sillier'.