A Child’s Sense of Wonder: Finding Awe in Life
My teenage daughter had her big final hip hop dance event in June of 2023 where all the groups of her dance academy performed. We invited some friends who brought their young children to watch, 3 years and 6 years old respectively. It was amazing to watch how they took in the dance performances.
You could feel their enchantment and sense of wonder as it was the first time they had seen anything like it. Jaws dropping, eyes wide open and definitely leaning forward. It was like how my daughter was when we first took her to a hip hop dance festival when she was 4. And funny how that little kernel turned into her actually ending up on stage almost a decade later.
It makes me curious where my friend’s young children will end up doing. The possibilities from attending this random event but the doors in their minds are clearly open to them doing some dance classes.
As parents and mentors to young people, it’s our job to be good examples of good, strong and wise human adults. But it’s also our job to expose them to new and interesting experiences whether travel, language, music or musical instruments. It will open up paths to them and show them the possibilities.
Very similar to how my mom pushed me to travel to Japan and England, to study Violin or to read books that were not just about military history but philosophy, business, westerns and science fiction. All of which have had a dramatic impact on my life and what I’ve done since I left Canada.
Seeing my friends' kids at that event also made me wonder when was the last time I felt this extreme sense of wonder or awe. For me, it was probably in 2004 when I went to visit the Great Wall of China or in 2007 doing White Shark Cage Diving in South Africa. Or 2009 when Amber was born. What an amazing day that was and still is for me personally.
It’s a great reminder that I need to get out of my comfort zone and explore new places. Or go to new countries like Colombia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam or Iceland in the upcoming years and also look or re-look at new businesses in different industries.
I probably also really need to book that trip to Maccu Pichu soon too! :) New places and new perspectives will probably be good for me and my kid as well. That’s the least you can do for kids. It will help expand their horizons and minds and may be the best legacy you can leave them. After all isn’t that what we are all after: a great impactful legacy.