Friday, March 23, 2012

I Became Picasso

"My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso."
Parents always seem to see the best of possibilities in us as children. I am sure almost all of us have heard our parents say you can be whatever you set your mind to be.
I now watch my two young granddaughters and wonder what each of them will grow up to be. I love seeing the wide-eyed curiosity that is a daily occurrence with our three and a half year old granddaughter and we are witnessing the newness of life with our six week old granddaughter. I heard yesterday all the joy in our family when the newest member of the family smiled at grandma for the first time. I see in each of them their different personalities emerging and what kinds of things seem to ignite the passion in them, even if for the six week old, cuddling and food seem to get her the most excited.
Reese, the three and a half year old, laughs constantly. I read an article that suggests that laughter is healthy for us and that a child laughs over 300 times per day and an adult less than 17. What is it that took the laughter out of us adults? I do find myself laughing more when around Reese. I saw a quote from Michael Pritchard that said, “You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing."
Reese also is at that stage where she asks WHY about a thousand times a day. She asks why out of pure curiosity and no fear that she doesn’t have the answer. She feels no shame in not knowing something. And I am learning that the older I get, the clearer I am about how little I know. Maybe I can get over the embarrassment of asking why! In our leadership coaching workshops we teach leaders to try and avoid why questions because it tends to set people on the defensive. Maybe I should bring my granddaughter with me to co-facilitate some of our workshops.
I hope for my granddaughters that they will become the Picasso’s they feel the passion to become. That they will laugh as much when they grow up as they do as children. That they play as hard as they do now and that they love as openly as they do as the wide-eyed children they are. And may I finish out my career helping many people realize the Picasso dreams they had as young children.