Open Engagement

Today I was sitting in my local Starbucks, and I looked out the window to see a little red haired boy, maybe about 3 years old, outside the entrance door.  His mother was standing and talking with a friend, and while they talked, this little boy was eagerly engaging with the simple metal handrail along the ramp leading up to the door.  First, you've got to realize that the rail was just a very simple metal bar - nothing fancy.  But at one end, it curved around to make a good foothold.  The little boy was climbing up and then down, up again, down again.  Then he ran the length of the bar looking for more ways to get up on the bar.  He tried a few options, found it was hard to climb up without the toehold, so returned to the end excitedly and went up and down again, folding himself over the top bar, standing up straight on it, hugging the bar, lying along it, getting down again, swinging from it.  I don't know if I can convey the intensity and enthusiasm with which this little boy engaged with climbing and exploring this simple bar.  I sat transfixed by his undivided and unwavering commitment to his quest while for the whole 5 minutes his mother was talking, he continued to climb and explore with unrelenting curiousity, focus and dedication.

And I thought: when was the last time I took such interest in exploring an everyday object like that?  I would never give that tired old railing a second look, let alone see it as a delightful way to engage with my world, although perhaps at one point, when I was three, I might have.   This led me to wonder if I ever, in my own current context, approach any everyday situation with the same kind of complete openness and eagerness to all possibilities that the little boy was demonstrating?   Do I ever still run enthusiastically toward my own handrails in life with self abandon – and with an active desire to squeeze every ounce of possibility out of an everyday opportunity? 

This Sunday I will be preaching about what it might look like to live our lives with wide open hands and wide open hearts.  This little boy gave me a great image to ponder as I consider what I will say.