I was walking past a park with my son the other day, feeling pretty content. We passed a playground he hadn’t been to before, we were in new territory. He had to mark it; with swinging, jumping and wild flinging of his body, careening around poles and kicking up dust. This is how a 6-year-old enjoys life. Get blisters, be happy.
I turned to look around the new ‘hood when I noticed, stapled to a tree at eye level, a simple sign on bold yellow paper. It was nailed to a tree, and read
LOOK UP.
SEE THIS BEAUTY, AND BEHOLD THE SKY
IF ONLY FOR A MOMENT.
“What are you doing Mom?” He yelled, checking on my slow progress.
“I am beholding the sky,” I yell back.
“Oh,” he says, with a shrug, and moves on to another platform to climb.
In that moment, I felt happiness, for myself, and fo all the others who read that sign and obeyed its request. Thank you, random person, for injecting a small piece of clarity into my day. You took the time to print it out, nail it to a tree, behold for a moment, and move on. I can only try to do the same for others, and perhaps, work on getting more blisters. They remind me I have worked hard, played hard, and they make me happy too.