“Dad and I are going to go look at some planes!”
The 7-year-old said this in a very matter-of-fact way. Then he bounced away beside his dad to watch the planes from the terminal window.
I looked over and smiled at his mom. “It’s his first time flying. He’s pretty excited.”
Later, I saw him board, and watched as the flight attendant directed him into the cockpit to meet the pilots. After, the smile beamed on his face as he turned around with the gold plastic wings on his chest, and he walked down the aisle, noticing all the people and the seats. He looked for his seat number, and tucked his new ninja turtles backpack under his seat and fiddled with the seat belt until it made a satisfying click.
Then I watched a bunch of other wide-eyed kids board the plane with wonder and curiosity in their eyes, and suddenly I was looking at plane travel through a new lens. (flying is something I do all the time and normally take completely for granted.)
How exciting to do things for the first time. Watching YouTube videos of babies eating real food for the first time is one of my great joys in life (here’s my niece Keira’s first applesauce. I could watch this 78 times every day! She just got her driver’s license.) Flying, moving to a new home, going to a new school, going to a movie for the first time. New things can be scary, but it can be oh so exciting.
And it’s good for our brains too! When you’re in an unfamiliar place, your attention turns on. You’re present in the moment and you notice things you might not notice when you’re somewhere you’re familiar with. Yes, your brain is scanning for danger, but if you’re intentional about it, you’ll become aware of really interesting things! If you focus on being curious, you might notice some amazing things. This fires up your powers of observation, enhances creativity and problem solving, and lowers stress and anxiety over time.
You don’t have to wait until you’re in an unfamiliar place…in fact, it’s great practice to do it right where you are right now. For instance, I just looked around the plane I’m currently on, in search for something I’d never noticed before. There’s a little up arrow sticker on the wall beside seat 17A. In fact, there’s one next to 17F on the other side too. Hmmmm, I wonder what those are for! (Googled it!) In 46 years of airline travel, I NEVER noticed that!)
So look around every once in a while, and see if you can find something you’ve never noticed. A worn spot in the carpet, or the way the sun is coming through the window and the dust is floating in the air. (Maybe that’s just my house. I’m a terrible housekeeper!) Fire up those curiosity muscles, and see the world through new eyes! It’s fun, and good for you!! (and I think that counts as that mindfulness stuff everyone is talking about.)
And speaking of a youthful outlook, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT ALICE!!!
Go get curious, Tiger!
