Seeing your breath and other wonders…
October 26, 2008 – 9:00 am
Running through the air
I saw my breath this morning. It billowed out like clouds to greet the chill. As a child I found this fascinating. My friends and I would have contests to see who could send out the biggest burst of white smoke. Of course, as a I got older the cold air contest was replaced with cigarette smoke-ring contests. The coolest person was the one who could make rings and hearts or send small rings through bigger rings. Today I cannot tolerate cigarette smoke. Not that I’m a rabid reformed smoker or anything. Far be it from me to tell anyone what they can and cannot do. It’s just that I’ve developed an allergic reaction to cigarette smoke. So now I have returned to playing with cold day smoke rings.
Hanging around the garden
Maybe life truly is cyclical. The older I get the more I rediscover the joys of my childhood. Sure, Play Doe has been replaced with pottery clay. Doll Houses have been replaced with real houses. But the underlying actions are the same, the ever deepening pursuit of creativity. I fear for our children who do not indulge their imagination, who seek toy after toy or get sucked into the vacuum of endless stimulus. Are we robbing them of imagination by giving them everything?
I invite you on this chilly day to step out into the wind, to see your breath and remember all of the things that nurtured your imagination. They are still out there if you turn off the television and look.
