All little children believe in magic. That goes without saying, since they believe in Santa Claus,
the Tooth Fairy, elves, dwarves, gnomes, witches, wizards, sprites and leprechauns, too. If you
ever feel sad or lonely, all you have to do is look at the world through a little child's eyes. They
see magic and beauty everywhere.
While we shiver and grumble at the falling snow, they look with wonder at the beauty of the
snowflakes that are all totally individual, and all are beautiful. While we look at scraps of paper
or cloth as something to be thrown away ( and at our house, it really has to be unusable, even too
small for a crazy quilt patch or craft project)little children see the faces made by the shapes of
the scraps, or the hair for a paper doll to be made from the shreds.
While we see only the old and faithful dog asleep on the porch, children see the napping
playmate and they wonder if he thinks and dreams like we do. They wonder if he thinks we
change our fur every day. They worry about him getting cold outside when he is hunting with his
master, because he has no shoes on his feet. They see the tired, happy expression in the old dog's
face as he comes up the hill to his home, and they run to greet him happily, scratching his ears
and petting his head and telling him they missed him.
Little children happily spin as fast as they can in circles, until they are dizzy, because they like to
watch the world go round. Then they fall down laughing, and lie in the grass, enjoying the still-
spinning feeling. They watch the squirrels and think they are playful little creatures, never
knowing any more than the squirrel does how much it actually works to survive. Children just
like to listen to them chatter back and forth, imagining them telling jokes, and watching their
bushy tails twitch and twitter.
Little children look with sadness and wonder on the bird's nest that is knocked to the ground,
and all the clutch of eggs broken after a springtime storm. They look to us for reassurance that
the mother bird will build again, and there will be more robins or blackbirds. We give them this
reassurance, explaining that this is Nature's Way, that sometimes things don't always work out
like we planned, either for bird or human. They accept this as the truth, and happily go inside for
a popsicle as we dispose of the sad broken nest.
Once more outside to play, they watch the birds pull the worms from the ground to carry back to
the nest of gaping little beaks waiting so hungrily for Mother's return. They wonder why birds
eat worms, and again we explain that this is Nature's way of sustaining everything. There is food
all around for the animals, and for us, too. When summer comes, we take them to the blackberry
patch with pails and show them all the wonders we can find. They learn soon enough that some
of the best wonders come with the sharpest of thorns, but quickly forget the sticks and poke and
scratches once that first piece of bread is spread with jam or cobbler comes from the oven. It is
then that they look at us with wonder, too, because we have made something so good from
something so sharp.
We put them to bed and tuck them in, singing their favorite song softly, and they know we care,
and we pray with them, and they know they will be safe til the morning's light. There is no fear,
nor care.
Fear and care are for us. Our children will learn fear and worry and care soon enough. For now,
there is only the Magic that is their world, the adults who love them, and the reassurance of
another magical day to come.
Looking at the world through a child's eyes can bring so much joy to us, if we let it. It can bring
so much happiness that is found in no pill, nor cream nor bottle or jar. It pulls at the strings of
the heart to see their little faces so lit with awe and magical wonder. It cannot last forever, and so
we must enjoy and savor it each time we are given the opportunity. It is an opportunity for our
hearts to grow that much more with each passing day, and when we feel it can grow no more
before it bursts, it expands within us again. That is Nature's Way.
