Pump Up the Jam

Jordany is incorporating new words into his vocabulary. There are several he’s picked up, and it’s so interesting to hear him use a word that I didn’t know he knew.

Most of them are more on the complex side as far as meaning goes and are usually longer words. The one that he used yesterday was “awkwardly“.

After his birthday party at Pump it Up, we were talking about how much fun we had. I told Jordany that I had fallen several times during one fall skinned my elbow because the slide went so fast. My elbow just burned rubber!

When I told Jordany this, he wanted to tell me all about his falls. He said, “I awkwardly fell into the side of the hot lava and couldn’t get up!” I knew just how he felt because I too had awkwardly fallen several times...face-plants, tumbles, rolls and even finding myself on my back. We had a great time though.

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“The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention...” -Julia Cameron

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Jordany is a sponge. I’m sure he learned the word while reading or listening to something. He’s paying attention sometimes and others he doesn’t look like he’s engaged in the conversation at all, yet, he is! (Then there are those moments that he’s really just not paying attention! Haha!)

Today I was reading about the importance of paying attention to where you are and what you’re doing. The author of the Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron says, “The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention...More than anything else, attention is an act of connection.”

She’s right on the spot. She nailed it!

If we are not taking in our surroundings, listening, touching, tasting, feeling, we miss what’s right in front of us—the opportunity for delight and connection...whether it be a new word that’s spoken, the beauty of the pink fairy roses about to bloom, holding hands with someone or what about the first bite of a creamy scoop of mocha chocolate ice cream and the crunch of the waffle cone it’s in?

I’m going to hold myself accountable for taking in the delightful moments of my life by being present. Who wants to miss out on the opportunity for joy, no matter the size or place, and for the feeling of presence and connection?

Not me!