Are you as content as a 4 year old?

Little life lessons can be had simply by listening to keen observations of your children. Recently, I learned that you do not have to solve every problem the way the world expects you to. Sure, you have to understand the rules of life, but the way you approach a problem, the framework in which you perceive issues and concerns, can help you tremendously.

When playing with an activity book, Brooklyn came upon some mazes. She asked how to play and I showed her. "You must start at this point and try to get to the other point without crossing a line. It's like a real maze and the lines are walls." She proceeded to play and I spoke with Tassi for just a few seconds. Brooklyn interrupted me to tell me that she was done. Upon looking at the book, she did, in fact, have the pencil tip pointing at the end. When I asked how she completed the maze so quickly, she illustrated with her pencil and said "I start here at the beginning, draw until I get to a line, and then jump over each wall."

Sometimes I wish I could change the framework in which I see the world. Brooklyn clearly understood the problem of the maze. She had to get from point A to point B. But because I didn't provide one detail (no jumping walls), she decided to introduce a perfectly reasonable solution. Children are not jaded by life experiences and thus approach situations without sarcasm and negativity. Thus, I have to remind myself to be childlike and that, in many cases, simply thinking positive keeps you out of life's mazes.