Innocence of Kids

I’m at Birkdale in Huntersville looking for a little inspiration from anywhere. For those who’ve never been here, it’s pretty cool. It’s a self-contained outdoor mall with uber-cool apartments above all of the stores. In the middle is a roundabout that’s large enough to have a small “waterpark”, if you will. There are fountains shooting out of the ground from everywhere which mom’s bring their kids to play in and benches under large white arbors surrounding the play area for the mom’s to relax and talk while enjoying a reprieve.

Normally I wouldn’t think twice about this scene since I’ve sat here hundreds of times before and seen the same thing countless times. (Jo & I lived across the street from Birkdale our first year of marriage and this was probably my favorite place to chill out.) But something along the same line from the weekend brought it to my attention. A couple from our small group threw a graduation party for their oldest daughter and there were a ton of families there. There were toddlers, tweens, high-schoolers & graduates. In the field out back about 20 kids in their late teens were playing ultimate frisbee while younger kids played in the backyard running & doing flips & cartwheels.

A guy named Bruce from our small group was sitting in a chair in the backyard silently, when I asked, “What are you doing man? Why don’t you come join the adult party?!” He said, “I’m just enjoying watching all of the different age groups. There’s something so awesome about watching these kids have fun like this. Those young guys playing frisbee can run so fluidly & have no clue that they’ll one day move rigidly like me. But, the little kids have no clue that they’ll one day be able to run so fluidly instead of having short wobbly steps.”

They don’t think about the future much at all. They just enjoy being able to do what they’re capable of to it’s fullest extent. It’s innocent. The teens aren’t saying to themselves, “I’d better enjoy this now before I start having hip surgeries” And the small kids aren’t saying, “Well, I can’t run like the big kids, so why even try?” Enjoyment at it’s purest.

So these kids run through fountains at Birkdale in much the same way, chasing one another & screaming with delight. They fall down from time to time, get picked up by their mom, shed a few tears & within minutes join the fray once again. Their lives were meant to be enjoyed & they intend on doing it to their fullest ability.

Silence is Golden

I found myself reminiscing the other day about what it was like when I was a teenager and had no cellphone, no Facebook, no Twitter, no IM & only about 12 channels on television.  Believe me, I love my phone & really love Directv!  But I sometimes feel numb to it all.  I like knowing that I can keep up with people in ways that were never possible before.  As far as it maintaining real relationships, that’s all smoke & mirrors.  It’s nice to be in contact nonetheless.

My main difficulty is in being so sucked in.  We talk about being bombarded with media & advertising, but we are the ones that allow it.  I told Jo the other day that I was sick of looking at my phone through all of my favorite websites just to see if something has changed in the past 30 minutes.  What if it has?  What will it change in my life?  It’s a little of why I haven’t blogged quite as much.  I found myself looking to see how many people had looked.  How many care?  Will anyone comment?  If they do, will it be worthwhile??  Most things I say aren’t worthwhile.  There’s no difference.

To add to that, I’ve had very little to say lately.  I feel like the Lord has been growing parts of my life that don’t need any extra distractions.  So, I’ve been quiet and saving some things for myself.  Not everything is for everyone.  There are things that I could write on here in my best efforts to be “real” and they would honestly just tweak most people and make me look like a freak in their eyes.  I look at some of the things that Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) writes on Twitter and think, “why would you write or say some of those things??”  Some things should just be left alone.  Even if it’s remotely funny, just leave it be.

So, quiet has been a staple lately & it’s refreshing.  Just listening to worship music, reading, writing in my journal, & listening to sermons.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m still checking my sites, but I want to replace some things.  Bit by bit.  My life is too short to be worried about someone I don’t know all that well eating toast for breakfast or driving in the rain.  My life is mundane enough as it is.  I don’t need to take on someone else’s monotony too.  I like reading blogs that really dig deep, but I’m feeling exhausted with one sentence, compartmentalized glimpses into people’s lives.

Sorry, just rambling….