Most adults have looked at a child blissfully enjoying playtime, and have, for a moment, wished they were children again. They look so peaceful, so happy, with hardly a care in the world. Children laugh easily, they enjoy what they do, and they get excited about the simplest things. They generally have minor, very temporary worries that rarely last more than a few minutes or an hour. They likely spend so much more time than you do just being happy and engaged.

Why do kids appear to be so much more at peace? Obviously, they have a whole lot less work to do, but that’s not the root of the reason. What gives them so much peace of mind and heart is not so much the absence of work as it is the almost complete absence of fear of the future.

The younger children are, the less apt they are to fear the future. As children grow older, they’re introduced to more problems and pressures, and soon they’re worrying a bit about their report card, then they’ll start looking in the mirror and wondering if they’ll be ugly when they grow up. When they start approaching adulthood, the worries about the future mount up, and in some cases begin to overshadow the excitement about the simple things of life. Before they know it, they’re adults with full responsibilities, and many fears and worries.

Fear and worry about the future unfortunately becomes a part of the life of an adult, to varying degrees, depending on how much someone is prone to worry. Some people have more responsibility, therefore more to worry about. Others are more apt to fear due to their personalities. Others fear and worry due to negative experiences in the past, but in the end everyone worries on occasion. Everyone has to deal with fears and worries on a regular basis, whether about your work, your children, your health, or your job.

Obviously you can’t become so much like a little child that you have no responsibilities or work to accomplish, and you just play “make-believe” all day, but you can still learn from children’s example of living more for the moment and enjoying the simple things in life.

Here are some examples of the simple joys of life that are so often overlooked:

• Getting a short glimpse of the beauty of God’s creation and taking it in, enjoying it, and thanking Him for it.
  
• Enjoying the aroma and then the taste of a delicious, home-cooked meal, and letting it make you feel happy.
  
• Enjoying a sport you’ve rarely played—not for the purpose of becoming an ultra-fit specimen of humanity, or for proving your above-average athletic prowess, but just to have some fun and relaxation.
  
• Deciding you’re going to reward yourself with something small and delicious, such as an ice cream or your favorite soup, and then taking a little break to purchase it or prepare it.
  
• Occasionally tuning in to the silly things kids laugh about, and laughing with them.
  
• Just sitting on a couch spacing out for a few minutes, thinking about happy stuff. Not your problems, not your work, not your lifelong goals—just happy stuff like your cute kids, the good old days of your youth, a great activity you engaged in, or what it would be like to fly.
  

Some of these examples might seem silly to you. They might seem like a waste of time when there’s so much to do.

Take a nice, deep breath. Take another one. Now take a few minutes and think of happy stuff. Forget your troubles. Forget your day. Appreciate the good things in life. Feels good, doesn’t it? Or if it doesn’t feel good yet, it will as you become more like a child and make it a habit to enjoy the simple things in life.

Enjoy life all throughout—not in several short, powerful bursts. Spend time laughing with others and loving them, not bossing them around, working out problems, or competing with them. Love, live—enjoy something every single day. Every day!

By Jay Phillips

Today I went for a walk with some of my friends’ kids in the countryside surrounding the village in which we live, an area consisting of agriculture fields, dirt paths, and small woods. The weather was great, so it was a good opportunity for the kids to get some fresh air and exercise as they ran around looking for little creatures that are abundant in spring and summer. Time can seem to stand still while out in nature—at least until the kids excitedly holler, “Ladybug!” or “Spider!” 

But even such sudden alerts are okay, because just a few minutes of peace is usually all I need to clear my head. Then I’m ready to jump back into action and run into the bushes to get a photograph of the latest “cool bug” they found and to take in the moment with these little exploring minds.

When Jesus said that unless you become as little children you cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3), maybe He wasn’t just talking about Heaven to come, but also about the peace and little bit of heaven we experience in our hearts here and now when we take the time to put our cares aside, quiet our minds and spirits, and tune in to His voice speaking to us through creation.

The children I was with seemed to do that naturally. They weren’t worried about the work that still needed to get done back home, or the bills that needed to be paid; they were simply full of energy, excited about life, and happy to have a big guy along to watch out for them and take snapshots of their activities. How much more peace should we have, knowing that we have the ultimate Big Guy looking out for us and, I’m sure, taking snapshots of our lives too?