In Search of Tree Stars...

Remember when you were little?  Almost everything was wonderful.  You were filled with awe at every turn.  You can readily see this quality in a baby or even a baby animal.  Just sit and watch them react to their world.  It doesn’t take much.  Give them an empty box and watch them explore and gambol with pure delight.  It will make you smile…maybe in the watching…but also in the remembering what it was like to feel that way.  When we were brand new…fresh into this world…we marveled at the beauty around us …in a cloud…in a butterfly…in a leaf.    Do we lose something along the way that takes that wonder away or makes it slowly fade into oblivion? Are we too busy to give it heed? We are in danger of missing so much of our beautiful world.  Sometimes my life journey feels like I am driving on the express way at break neck speed where I am only looking straight ahead. I want to slow down and take the country road, where I have the time and the inclination to look from side to side.

There is a children’s movie called Land Before Time about a group of baby dinosaurs that got separated from their mommas.  It was a particular favorite of my sons and would make them alternately laugh and cry and want to see it again and again.  It is a bittersweet quest that these little ones find themselves. I remember one scene where a leaf was falling from a tree and the little Dino looks up in wonder and calls it a “tree star“.  What a lovely way to see the world with innocence and awe.  I want that…again…in my life. Why can’t we feel that way as adults?  Well, I say, why not!

There is a word that keeps coming at me from all directions lately.  The word is intention.   I am determined that it is never too late to be intentional in looking for my tree stars and rediscovering the wonder of my childhood.  I am praying for eyes to see and a heart to recognize them. Thus, the name of my blog.