Sunday, September 4, 2016

Expanding the Bubble

Summer is just about behind us. That long-awaited season of sunshine, hot temperatures and every imaginable excuse considered acceptable to justify an ice cream cone is unofficially over on Labor Day. Other than the glorious weather, the fragrant flowers, the extended hours of daylight and time dedicated to nothing more productive than reading a good book, what did I gain from this summer? I learned that I need to expand the bubble. I need to embrace the child in me more often. While on my daily walks this summer, I witnessed a little girl singing at the top of her lungs while she watered flowers in front of her home. I laughed along with children who found jumping and splashing in puddles to be exhilarating entertainment. I watched a little boy run like the wind, not because he had a purpose or a particular destination, but because he was simply having fun. And I delighted in a little girl dancing in bubbles as she blew them. I decided I want to expand my own bubble and dance and run and sing and splash just like them. The seriousness of our world has a way of weighing me down, where every day brings news of more divisiveness, more rancor, more tragedy and heartache and senseless violence. We each need to bring light into our own corners of the world and we each need to find and make our own joy. So, as summer steps aside for the arrival of fall this month, I will be focusing on how to expand my bubble to reach out to others with more kindness and compassion and to include more room in my days for laughter, spontaneity and sheer joy.