You may have noticed that young children are naturally optimistic and they bounce off setbacks very quickly. But as we grow into our careers and life, we see so many failed efforts and dysfunction, that cynicism quietly seeps in our thought process. We actively start looking for ways why something will not work or why something is a bad idea. Perhaps this is just the hard knocks of life trying to teach us lessons.
But there is so much that works perfectly, there is so much that is marvelous in our world. As children we notice all of that and it fills us with a sense of wonder. As adults, we hurry past it.
Everyday, for a few minutes, pay attention to the quiet little objects and events that demand no attention – that tree, that faint sound from faraway, that rounded rock with its millions of years of history, that leaf in the wind. The highest order of intelligence is mindfulness – the ability to live and enjoy the moment – with no past moment and no future moment encumbering the current moment.
