A Simplistic Sense of Wonder

I believe the time lapse between this blog post and my last speaks perfectly to the naive preconception of living with a newborn which I had. Although these past 5 weeks have been loads of fun they have also been filled with loads of hard work and busy days.  When I find time between work, yard work, tag-teaming waking up with Danielle, and making sure the dogs don't run a complete muck in the house...I usually end up not wanting to think to much to sit and write and would rather just sit and be with my family. Hopefully, over the next few days I can post a few more blogs here.

There are numerous things the Mancub has taught me during his time with us. The first one being the simplistic nature of his innate desires.  All this little guy wants is to be fed, be clean, be warm, and be loved. Literally... thats it. Figuring out which one of these desires he wants is easier said than done sometimes. It's amazing that even as his cognitive processes slowly begin to develop, the natural way his body lets us know want he wants. Danielle has already mastered the apparently 400 different blends of cries he makes, which signal different things. "That cry means he has to burp and feels miserable right now, but wants to eat after he burps, "That one means he is frustrated with his hiccups and just wants to sleep", "That one means he's angry at you for waking him up"  

Even though the pitch/tone/length of cries seems complicated to me (not Danielle), the needs that those cries represent is in fact extremely simple. It makes me wonder at what point in our lives do the simple necessites in life stop being enough for us. It is no longer enough to have a full stomach, clean clothes, warm house, and to be loved. We have to have everything bigger and better than we had before. We can't just be thrilled with having a cell phone anymore, we have to have the cell phone, which is also a gps, laptop, camera, english-german translator, recipe book, coffee shop locator, and of course at the very least...AngryBirds compatible. When did enough not become enough?

In the book, Ragamuffin Gospel, author Brennan Manning speaks of how we are cheating ourselves from the glory and love of God because we have become complacent with the things he has created. If we were to "slow down and smell the roses" if you will, we would learn to appreciate the wonder that is our Creator. It's possible to become more spiritually moved while watching a thunderstorm than watching a preacher from a pulpit. As Rabbi Heschel puts it, "As civilization advances, the sense of wonder declines." As I was watching The Sandlot yesterday, I remembered this qoute during the scene where the boys were standing in awe watching the fireworks display. The look of wonder and amazement on their face. For that moment in their lives, time stood still as the stood in awe of something bigger than themselves. I'm not sure kids now-a-days would react the same to a fireworks display.

I see this same look of wonder in Noah's eyes sometimes when he wakes up, or hears our voice and turns towards us. It's like every time he opens his eyes, it is for the first time, and he's taking the moment all in. Maybe thats why so many people our enamored with babies, they are in awe of their happiness and innocence. I think sometimes when people hold a baby, that innocence makes the person feel better about their life.  Danielle and I constantly talk about how we believe that having Noah makes us want to be better people. I think we feel this way for a number of reasons, but one of them being as Danielle said, "Whenever I hold him, I just realize what is really important in this life, and I don't worry about the little things as much"

My old college roommate Nathan Hoag used to say that one of the keys to happiness is to live a simplistic life (while he voluntarily lived out of a tent for an entire school year). I believe this is true, proven through the eyes of a 5- week old baby.