futures

I was at the Nashville Public Library yesterday, hanging out fountainside in the courtyard with my laptop, when a gang of parents and kids came around. It's interesting, and rather humorous, to watch young children in the vicinity of fountains. They just can't help but try to crawl in, much to their parent's annoyance. Of all the kids, one youngster in particular just made me think.

A little boy, probably about 2 years old, if that, on wobbly legs with huge eyes, meandered over to a shrubbery. There was nothing in his world that was so fascinating as this bush. It was just an ordinary bush mind you, anyone would just look it over. But this child, being rather new to the world, was just awestruck. He stared at it for a good while, leering on his unstable legs, then started touching it. He got up close and was poked in the eye by branches. He grabbed a twig, stuck it in his mouth, and spit it out. He grabbed some leaves stuck them in his mouth, and spit them out. Another twig, some mulch, another leaf or two.. he just couldn't get enough of this plant.

I can't even begin to imagine being that little again and having everything be so new. EVERYTHING is new. Food, words, letters, numbers.. the whole world is ripe for the picking. In a way I'm jealous. At 24, there's not a whole lot left to figure out.. not simple things. Everything is so complicated. I must say I'm envious of the fascination. And while thinking of this it spurred other thoughts..

This little boy is just so.. little. He has so much growing, so much life ahead. What choices will he make? What directions will he take? What new things will he learn and grab onto. It's so bizarre to think we all started in that same spot. The biggest excitement of the day was discovering leaves and twigs. And to think of every different road we could have taken in life, and all the steps it's taken us to get where we are.

What if on that day, we discovered something else? Would the rest of our life be different? What if that day the little boy didn't find that shrub? Would things turn out different. All the little choices and decisions. I think they all culminate to where we are today. All the little discoveries we've never even thought about. How different would things be?

It was a fun and intriguing bunch of thoughts.