The week my 3 year old taught me how to adore.

Become more joyful by getting behind present circumstances with childlike enthusiasm.

“Kal, we need to go the other way.”
Kal turns his bike around. He declares, “I love to go that way!”

A bowl of blanched broccoli is placed on the dinner table.

Kal: “I love broccoli!”

“Kal, do you want to make sandwiches with me?”

Kal pulls a chair up to the counter. “I love to make sandwiches!”

“Kal, it’s time to play outside.”

“I love to go outside!”

“Let’s get a Band-Aid on your cut.”

“I love to put Band-Aid’s on my cuts, Mommy!”

“Kal, sit on the potty before watching TV.”

Kal turns on his heel, heads for the bathroom, and proclaims, “I love to pee on the potty! And I love broccoli!”

In an attempt to rewire some old, unhelpful thought patterns into more productive ones, I decided to take a page out of my son’s book. A lot of negative thinking is habitual. Honoring the plasticity of my brain, I decided to respond to any negative thoughts that pop up with an adoration - Kal style.

As I approached my second intersection of back-to-back red lights, an annoyed scoff fluttered across my brainwaves. I could feel my eyes rolling. Noticing the unnecessary negativity, I said quietly to myself, “I love to sit at red lights!” A smile couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of my mouth. The cute, high pitched tone of my sweet 3-year-old boy’s voice rang in my mind. Visions of his bright eyes set on his signature delighted countenance flooded my brain. Joy arrived.