Visiting my family in California is something I usually do at the Holidays, but I wanted to be with them and have some time to just hang out with them in their daily routine. So last week I traveled to Southern California where we did ‘normal’ things like cooking and eating together, going to church, doing a jigsaw puzzle, watching TV, even attending a Memorial Service. It was special to just be with them.

My niece Sheryl is a Kindergarten teacher, and my sister Shirley (Sheryl’s mom) assists her. One day I went to school with them and found myself in the midst of a room full of very enthusiastic kindergartners. I had forgotten how happy, energetic, and full of life young children are. They seemed to love to learn – almost anything. It made me feel sad that many adults seem to lose much of their enthusiasm for living. I remember hearing someone say that the keys to enthusiasm come from learning and from accomplishments. Perhaps children are so enthusiastic because they are constantly learning new things, whereas we adults have lost that zest because we’ve stopped much of our learning. I wonder if we think that we know enough, and therefore our learning is only done passively through television, the media, and the passage of time. If we only do the same activities or see the same people, then gradually we stop learning new or interesting things, which makes life repetitious, tedious, even boring. No wonder we’ve lost the enthusiasm we had as kindergartners.

On our farm in Nebraska, our old dog Buddy often snoozed lazily as he lay in the sunshine on the porch. However, if something of interest – like a rabbit – came into view he was like a kindergartner enthusiastically springing into life and not at all exhausted or old.

Being in that kindergarten classroom reminded me that we should encourage our children – and ourselves as adults – to express our enthusiasm and delight. The world is full of wonderful things and we too have amazing possibilities, if we are open to them. We should strive to keep our zest for living as well as our curiosity and desire to learn. We don’t want to be blind to the world and its miracles or the options open to us. The world is as exciting today as it was when we were children. By learning new things, it will help keep our enthusiasm high – like those joy-filled children in kindergarten.

Interestingly, the word ‘enthusiasm’ comes from the Greek word ‘enthios,’ which means ‘the God within.’ No wonder Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, for such is the Kingdom of God.’

Divine Teacher, thank you for teaching us so many things. Help us to rekindle our enthusiasm, our ‘enthios’ – our God within. May we remember that Jesus loved the little children and told people that such was the Kingdom of God. May we open our eyes and ears to new learnings and much greater enthusiasm for life. Amen.

Joy Carol

www.joycarol.com