Need a New Perspective? Take a Walk with a Child

Take Pen to Paper: Edition 5

When was the last time you took a walk with a child?

Last weekend we went to a folk music festival at a local park. Five adults, one infant being carried and one five-year-old. The walk to the park was seven blocks. It's an easy 10-minute walk for adults. That time grows when you add a child.

Seven city blocks included shop window displays to study, signs to read, graffiti to ask about (thankfully clean), balloons to touch, and rocks, both little and big.

There is no hurrying when walking with a child. Being with a child gives you the opportunity to:

• observe the small unnoticed details

• admire the beauty in everyday sights

• listen to a child's perspective of their experience

Adults are often too focused on their destination to take the time to notice the possible wonders. Walking with a child influences you to notice.

The park entrance road was lined with 10 granite boulders. First, my granddaughter had to touch them. Then she discovered she could climb on them. She climbed each one.

Was there another way to enter the park? Yes, but this was the best way.

Exploring a tree stump leaving the park. Photo by S.G.S. Abel

7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good

1. The Richmond Folk Festival is the festival I referred to above. It’s an annual fall event and free(!), being supported entirely by donations.

2. J. G. Ingram of London started manufacturing and selling the prototype of modern latex rubber balloons in 1847. Mylar balloons were first sold in the 1970s. Children love balloons. 🎈

3. Atlas Obscura is a great website if you want to have an adventure without going further than your computer.

4. I’m grateful for my phone’s camera. I’m rarely without my phone. Wherever I am, I always find small wonders to photograph. 📸

5. Challenge yourself to walk a familiar path and take five photos of small things you notice. The more you practice, the easier it becomes.

6. I’m grateful for office and shop personnel who greet you when you walk into their place of business. It’s such an easy thing to do to make someone feel welcome.

7. Early voting! Living in the United States we have the right to vote. Early voting allows me to walk in, vote and walk out. No matter how you do it, vote.

Thank you for reading!

Do something good for someone. Be spontaneous!