wandering down a quiet path

i read recently "silence is a wise sage who brings us knowledge to which our ears are deaf." our senses become so dulled by all of the outside stimuli this world has to offer and that we so greedily take. i've held this in my mind on a few of our recent family walks and feel that i can see and hear so much more when i quiet down and let elodie lead the way.

recent memories:

elodie and i stood beneath a grove of trees and waited for the wind to shake a leaf or two free. we would run in the direction of the falling leaf, each hoping to grab it before it reached the ground.

elodie taking michael's hand as they walked down some stone stairs and elodie saying "it's a little tricky right here." 

we took the petals of a bright purple flower and released them, one by one, into a running brook hoping that a water strider would use the petal as a canoe.

bits of dander and blossoms danced on the breeze and we wondered what type of fairy, a wood fairy or a meadow fairy, would use it to build a home.

michael and elodie at the edge of a stream skipping rocks. my heart jumps out of my chest seeing those two together.

it's beautiful to awaken to our children and our surroundings by the simple exercise of quieting our noisy minds.