Laugh without reservation
The other day I was at the cinema with my daughter to see Brave. As you might expect it was filled with kids and parents.
In the row behind us sat an older couple (late 60's - early 70's) with no kids. They walked in hand in hand with smiles on their faces. As the trailers played I heard the lady laugh at all the funny bits that the kids laughed at (and a few more!).
During the film she laughed at the funny bits and sighed at the sad bits and I found myself smiling with her and sighing with her. I loved how openly she was expressing her enjoyment of the film.
And it reminded me of something else that I noticed a few days before. As my daughter and I stepped out of the house, there was a strip of clear plastic wrap caught in the lid of the wheelie bin, fluttering in the breeze. I'd noticed it a few times and thought I should probably tuck it inside. My daughter saw it and had a little giggle at the fluttering.
Isn't it a shame that we so often become so reserved about our enjoyment of the little things? Overriding those reactions that we used to have as kids of even the simplest things and putting them into an adult perspective.
In the same way as I have decided that I will randomly run even when I'm not out with my daughter (don't you just love the way kids run everywhere?) I have also decided to try and look on those little moments of amusement and curiosity in the same way as a child might and get enjoyment rather than a sense of responsibility for them.
I wonder what else I'll notice when I do this, that I've been overlooking up until now?
What might you notice if you start looking at the world with the eyes of a child?
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