Sunday, October 20, 2013

Throwing Rocks

There is an elegant sculpture on our school campus. We live on this beautiful campus filled with trees. The sculpture is of trees and birds. It is glorious. Every time I see my son look up at this sculpture with wide eyes and his signature smile I get chills. The best part about this sculpture though are the rocks. Joshua was playing with the ocean rocks at the base of this sculpture before it was even built. He continues to play with the rocks. He gathers shiny rocks, speckled rocks, smooth rocks, and rough rocks. He names their characteristics as he sees them and gently places them on the wall at the base of the sculpture. He does not throw the rocks. At first we were concerned, but once he was so amazed at the beauty of these rocks he naturally started treating them respectfully. This is a reminder to me of our innate sense of wonder and gratitude at nature. We all need to be sure we don't lose this sensibility as we age.