"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, 'Do it again'; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."
- G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
So "abounding vitality" is the reason for "Do it again!" My house is INDEED abounding with vitality! :)
ReplyDeleteWe have an imaginary spider in our house named "Spidelle." Yesterday she crawled up my 3yr old's back and rested on is head. (We had not had a visit from Spidelle in a while so this was really exciting.) "Again! Again! Again!" -- Maybe 20X until Spidelle got tired and crawled away.
I think the older I get, the more patience I have with "Do it again." Maybe, instead of thinking of everything else I have to do, I've finally learned that THIS is IT. Wasn't it John Lennon who said "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."?
I love the GK Chesterton quote. I'm not very familiar with him, but I seem to resonate with all of the quotes I come across by him. I need to read more of his works. Maybe Orthodoxy would be a good place to start?
Thanks for sharing these thoughts, Jeannie. I'm sure I will be chewing on them again and again . . . :)
That's so cute about the spider, Adriana. I wouldn't be so tolerant of a real spider -- I wonder if your son would be?
DeleteI also think I should read some Chesterton. Our book club did a novel of his a long time ago -- The Man Who Was Thursday is the title, I think -- but I don't remember a lot of the details. Anyway, he must have had a great imagination.
He's actually quite apprehensive when it comes to real spiders, but he LOVES Spidelle. Maybe it's a safe, fun way for him to process his fear. (My kids also love the movie "Monsters Inc." -- perhaps for the same reason.)
DeleteDoesn't "Monsters University" look good?? I wonder if my daughter will let me go with her. I promise to sit in a different row ...
DeleteYes! My nine yr old daughter said yesterday -- "So many things are happening on June 21: 1. It's the first day of summer. 2. It's the longest day of the year. 3. Monsters University starts playing in theaters!"
DeleteMy husband and I are talking about taking all five kids to a local drive-in to see it. We'll have to wait a bit longer though; they don't get movies in at the same time as the regular theaters.
Orthodoxy is one of my favorite books, Jeannie. It's a spiritual memoir full of wonderful insights like the one you quote here. I think you should read it next. Or even stop what you're reading now and read it immediately. Yeah, I like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I just put a hold on it at the library. I was afraid not to! Seriously, thanks for the recommendation. I'm sure I'll like it.
DeleteOrdering my copy now!
DeleteP.S. Jeannie I'm glad you figured out who posted this great quote! ;-)
I read Orthodoxy this past summer, Adriana. It is short but challenging -- Chesterton had such a creative, original mind. I'm sure I didn't get the half of it in the sense of the content, but I "got" it in the bigger sense I think!
Delete"But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony" - I am truly (and gently) convicted by those words. While I am by no means a thrill seeker, repetition causes my patience to be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d. In these few words Chesterton makes me realize the wonderful blessing of childhood and child play.
ReplyDeleteOh to play in such a way again....
Thanks Jeannie for sharing that gem.
And thanks for commenting, Sarah.
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