Hop, Skip, Jump

A few days ago I happened to be in my car running some errands in the vicinity of the elementary school right after classes were dismissed. As I was waiting at a traffic light, I happened to notice a little boy walking down the street with his book bag in tow and with great joy in his heart.

What it was that grabbed my attention was the energy this child was releasing. I can only imagine the freedom he must have felt to once again be out of the classroom and able to move about as he pleases.

The specific energy I observed was hopping, skipping and jumping.....all in just a few moments. It seemed like he couldn't contain himself. He flowed through all three movements as he made his way down the street, obviously allowing himself to feel the wonder of the freestyle movement of his body. It was obvious he didn't care who may have been watching. I can't imagine that he was judging the style of his skip, or the height of his jump, of the distance he could hop. He was clearly just having a great time transporting himself home after school.

The impact on me, the observer, was joy. His movement reminded me of a dream I had where I led a class in skipping. Skipping is an activity I believe cannot be done without smiling. The freedom that it creates is natural and does not require work, planning or any assistance from anyone else.

He also inspired me to (at least metaphorically) live my life with a hop, skip and a jump. Imagine what fun life would be if we allowed ourselves freedom of movement as we made decisions on how we would spend our time, how we would approach our work, how we would be in relationship with others.

I'm not suggesting you hop, skip and jump to work or to your next board meeting ( unless of course you want to), yet I do encourage you to focus on moving through your daily activities with delight in your heart and a sense that there are many ways to be in process. You can move through life with joyful appreciation of each moment, or in fear, dread or worry about what may or may not happen next.

I plan on taking my cue from the child on the street and not care who's watching as I skip along appreciating the sheer joy of propelling myself into the next adventure.