Something Out of Nothing

There is a pull on my skirt, a little hand reaching for mine. I look down and see him. He is saying, “Mama, we want chalk.” More children gather around. Chalk. They want chalk. And chalk they get.

It’s a hive of little bees when the chalk comes out. They buzz around with their chalk drawing on anything and anyone.  I have never seen chalk become so messy. By the time we are finished, everyone is covered with chalk from head to toe.

I love how delighted the children are with simple pleasures of life: chalk, reading a book, playing an imaginary game with leaves and sticks, building something out of nothing. They spin with delight over a lollipop and dance for a biscuit. A push on the swing or a tight hug makes them giddy with happiness.  An airplane in the sky or a chicken along the road make it a red-letter day.

Out of necessity these children are experts at building something out nothing, creating treasures out of stones and miracles out of simple gestures of love. Their ingenuity, their thankfulness and their ability to create something wonderful out of nothing challenges me to be aware of the myriad of gifts surrounding me today.

The children teach me so much every day about celebrating life, even when it is broken and sullied.

I look at the world through their eyes and it is gleaming with gifts and miracles. Isn’t it ironic that these children who have so little are teaching me what it means to be thankful?  A child piled in expensive toys still cries for more, while the child with only a stick is content for hours. What is the difference?

Everything is sprinkled with fairy-dust and the world is a magical place when we are thankful for little things and see Something in nothing.

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