You Can Find Joy Through the Eyes of a Child

Find Joy Through the Eyes of a Child 

My longtime friend, gerontologist Karen Everett Watson is so very much in touch with all her family members. I admire her for that. Sometimes she shows up when I’m in a deep funk, but ten minutes later I’m on top of the world again. 

Read below the email she just sent me. See if you can find something there to brighten your day, just as it did mine. Here’s what Karen wrote… 

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Winter is not my favorite season. While I'm blessed to live in the mild climate of the Sacramento Valley, the days still get a bit grey to look at and my attitude seems to go blah fairly quickly. The grass turns brown and the leaves are now all gone. While we have quite a few evergreens, the dominate colors are still brown and brown. 

Last week the blah weather hit me quite hard and I even felt like I was getting a cold. In reality, I think my body was just reacting to my attitude, but something changed when I went to visit my grand-kids. 

My youngest grandchild is just two. He's a mamma's boy with wheat colored hair, but lately he's started venturing out and including me into his heart. As I got out of my car, he headed straight to me with arms outstretched. I picked him up and gave him kisses, but he was busy looking up at the sky and pointing with a chubby finger – chattering with delight. He had seen a bird and wanted me to look. 

Once the bird flew away, he looked up again and spotted a tree. Again, he chattered excitedly. As I looked into his clear blue eyes while he gazed upon the tree, it occurred to me that winter could be a beautiful time of year, even in the brown haze of the valley. I just needed to have eyes like my grandson, Seth - eyes to see the beauty and a focus on the sky instead of the ground. 

As a photographer I know that a camera cannot take beautiful pictures unless it's aimed at something beautiful. My focus has been off. I've been looking to be blah instead of looking at the beauty that remains even in the dead of winter. How many times have I allowed myself to remain in a funk instead of looking up at the sky where the bright fluffy clouds make pictures in the sky? I've cheated myself and those I'm around. It's time for this granny to change her attitude and enjoy the pleasures of the awesome season of winter! 

So, yesterday I stepped out on the back deck, got a broom and gave the deck a good sweep. I looked up at the trees and sky and thought about Seth. He's turning out to be a boy after his own granny's heart – he loves birds and trees and I think that's an awesome beginning! 

I hope this inspires you to keep your chin up and your eyes on the beauty of the sky. I know I constantly have to re-learn the lesson that happiness is found through gratitude and appreciation. With my new attitude, this just might be the best winter yet!

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 That’s my friend Karen!! See why I love her so much?

 Aileen Brazeau

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San Clemente Villas provides full-service, luxury assisted living to those over the age of 65. San Clemente Villas by the Sea is at 660 Camino De Los Mares, San Clemente, CA 92673. Phone:  (949) 289-1534 Fax: (949) 234-0081. Contact:  Aileen Brazeau, Co-Owner of San Clemente Villas by the Sea. | abrazeau@cox.net.