My one year old waves and smiles to every stranger that passes by in the neighborhood.
Several of my children when they were about two or three would say “HI!” ridiculously loud to every single person at the grocery store.
Little kids seem to smile and assume everyone wants to be their friend. They have no hesitations to laugh and happily play or dance in public, no matter who is watching.
When did we, as adults, seem to lose this enthusiasm for life? How did the responsibilities, burdens, and trials take such a great toll? When did we start hesitating to greet perfect strangers with a smile and kind “hello”?
We often limit our own happiness by restricting ourselves. We put up boundaries in places there shouldn’t be. It is okay to sing our hearts out! It is okay to laugh! It is okay to dance around like a fool! This is why I love young children. They don’t care if people are watching. They are free and happiness just beams from them.
Jesus has said to “become as little children”
I’d like to quote one of my favorite scriptures from the bible about children:
1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
New Testament, Matthew 18:1-4
Much can be said on the qualities of little children and why Jesus taught we need to be like them. When I ponder this scripture I always get lost in thinking of all the amazing attributes of little children. It is no wonder why He uses little children as an example to us. They are:
- Humble
- Quick to believe
- Loyal
- Happy
- Resilient
- Faithful
- Quick to forgive
- Self confident (They do not have pride, but they know they are special)
- Loving
- Teachable
- They see the world with awe and wonder
- The have eyes of innocence, they assume the best in others and from the world
- Curious
- Honest, painfully so sometimes
I could do whole posts on every one of these child like attributes and what we could learn from them. This time, I just want to focus on the happiness and joy that little children have.
Are little children happy all the time? Absolutely not! They scream, and cry, and throw huge temper tantrums. What I find remarkable, is that minutes after an outburst, they can be found giggling at something that tickles their funny bone, or in awe over a lady bug crawling on a flower. They don’t let the bad keep them from seeing the good! They easily cast off any burdens and are resilient!
Some days, however, there are outside factors keeping kids from being their normal resilient happy selves. Any one who has taken care of a tired toddler who hasn’t had enough sleep knows what I am talking about! It is important to recognize that even children have bad days, but once this outlying factor has been reconciled (a nap!) then the child ends up happy again.
How can we be happy like little children?
Children seek happiness out constantly. They want to laugh. They want to have fun! They choose to be happy. They have a natural instinct to seek it out and choose happiness without even realizing it.
Our adult minds are much more complicated. We fill our mind with work, our daily errands and are often too busy to seek out things that bring joy. It takes conscious effort to choose happiness, seek it out, or even recognize it, when it is right in front of us.
Just like cranky little ones who need sleep, what factors are keeping you from experiencing happiness? What outlying factors in your life do you need to let go of in order to experience more happiness? Part of being a grown up is having burdens we can’t ignore, but there are plenty of things we do have control over. It can be a lot more complicated than getting more sleep… actually, I take that back. I know I would be a much happier and less cranky with a little more sleep in my life! It could also be figuring out what to do about a toxic relationship with a friend, or unfollowing a social media account that often leaves unwanted feelings and thoughts.
On a daily basis, we need to find ways to fill our lives with things that bring happiness! I want to challenge you to live today with the eyes of a small child. Consciously make an effort to seek and choose happiness.
Laugh. Sing. Dance. Giggle uncontrollably. Live like it is heaven on earth. What would your life look like if you lived each day as if it were heaven on earth? Personally, I have no doubt that heaven will be filled with the unrestrained joy little children experience on a daily basis.
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