Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Life. On Mondays : Shine

There are a couple of things that come to mind when I think of how Shine is relative to our days.

You know those times when your child or children are so, so excited about something?  Like a day filled with fun plans - they speak animatedly, and every other word is punctuated with a hop, and all these stories and ideas come tumbling out, and everyone is -quite literally- brimming over with joy?
I love that.  I love seeing them so full that they are bursting.
Those days are pure magic, for sure.

But there's another kind, too - and this is the kind we had yesterday.
There's the kind that is building upon the inner glow, I think.
Like being really, really comfortable in your natural history museum.  I don't mean running and hollering, but still feeling safe and secure when you don't spot your family right away.  Knowing that they're somewhere close by, and you'll be able to find them, when you want to.
Knowing where your favorite parts are.  Noticing when there's something new. 
There's the inner shine that is growing inside that comes from feeling that you not only have a place of safety and belonging-ness at home, but that the world is yours for discovering and exploring.
I think Shine can come from knowing your neighborhood -on foot-, the libraries (and again, never feeling lost), and all twelve neighborhood parks.
It comes from seeing that these things are "The Big, Wide World", but still having a sense of rightness and security within them.

So even though the living and learning we (my family) do in our world is not done in any confined or "structural" way, we are still able to find security and experience confidence - in our own fashion, and on our own terms. 

Shine doesn't have to be a brilliant something that can only be seen when compared to that of another's.... it can be a quiet feeling that comes from within...
It can be a slow and steady glimmer,
a peaceful sense
that all is right with the world.

Sometimes the quiet and still things help us to Shine, too.

To play in this week's Life. On Mondays, go here.


  1. I love your description of feeling so at home in a place you get to know so intimately over time. That's one of the things I want for my children--one of the reasons I'm unschooling--that depth of knowing and deep familiarity. Already, my 14-month-old recognizes the corner we turn on to get to our house, two of our friends' houses, the entrance to our neighborhood playground, the path down to the stream... I love thinking of her playing in that stream daily for many years...

  2. We do all want our children (and ourselves) to have that inner glow...

  3. I get that, feeling connected to our community because we participate whether it be the art museum, the library or the park or as Lise said, the path to a stream...these are sweet sweet memories in the making.


Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!