Play

Certain experiences are just beyond the vision of a child.  For all their innocence and ignorance, one ignores the teachings of the children around us at the risk of not seeing life for real.
I watched kids play in the shopping center of our office building.  It is wonderful to watch the innocents living life out to the maximum!  Life is so simple.  It came be summed up in the moment at hand, nothing more yet nothing less.  Everything is possible.  Maximizing one's ability to experience what might be appears to be all that matters.  It is a wonderful simplicity that we would do well to apply to our lives.
I know life is more than kids playing in a mall.  In this knowledge, I wonder if the complexity, chaos, and challenges we hold onto are any more reflective of what life is all about.  Perhaps what we left as children is more simplistic than life is as an adult.  Equally true, life may not be what many of us, myself included, make it out to be.  Perhaps there are lessons from I childhood that we would do well to remember.
First, everyone has a story to tell.  Watch a child listen.  It is incredibly intense.  Imagine if you and I were to listen with the same type of openness in the context of our experiences.
Second, everyone is a potential playmate.  Kids are willing to play with anyone who is willing to play.  Community is a moving inclusive boundary!  Play fair, play intense, and play with a sense of wonder and you are part of the club.  Imagine a world where we were willing to include anyone in our community who was willing to live.
Third, kids listen to wisdom, even when they do not want to.  Authority has its role in a kid's life.  God's authority is present in ours.  The warning is clear; “Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.”  (Acts 3.23)  Kids get the point.  We would do well to follow.