| Home > Family > Construction Zone Ahead... |
Browse by title articles:
Construction Zone Ahead | |
Many a parent has been surprised, when giving a fancy gift to a child, to discover the big box in which it came holds more allure for the child than the gift itself. Kids have a great passion for forts, playhouses, clubhouses, little nooks and crannies indoors and out, tents anywhere and everywhere, treehouses. Children are often very inventive in creating these special spaces for themselves -- stretching a blanket from one piece of furniture to another to serve as a roof, putting a sheet over a cardtable to transform it into a clubhouse, cutting windows and a door into a large cardboard box to build a playhouse. The list can go on and on. How did you create your kid space when you were young? Lots of us still have a great enthusiasm for treehouses, and forts, and tents in our backyard. While I was on a trip recently, the bed where I slept was under a skylight that afforded me a view of a very tall oak tree. I looked up and designed in my mind the best treehouse ever. Everyday, in my imagination, I would climb the tree and sit in my treehouse. When we left, I was sad to leave my treehouse up in those oak branches. So I relocated it and now take it with me every place I go. It is now the treehouse of my heart. YOU’VE ALWAYS HAD THE BLUEPRINT Build the treehouse of your heart. From its heights, you can look down and get a new perspective on problems. The lofty limbs of your heart hold you safely in your arboreal shelter, and that security is always there whenever you choose to enter. Judgment Jabber does not have the secret password so cannot intrude. Your treasures and talents are stashed there and you can always find them easily. You laugh in this place and invent new ways to play. Ah, the gratitude that soaks through you in your treehouse. You only allow in playmates like joy and generosity and good cheer. On the outside of your treehouse is a big sign that says, “No grumps, or grouches, or grudges allowed,” and that rule is magically enforced. Up there you perform exquisitely -- perhaps you sing sweet melodies, give dazzling speeches, act in starring roles, speak in lyrical rhyme, bake astonishing cakes, whistle all your favorite songs on-key. Each time you enter, the weather turns perfect, even on summer dog days. And you have a whole cache of mighty magic wands in your treehouse that make all your dreams come true. GLOW FOR IT When you are in the treehouse of your heart, no one knows you are there. Yet everyone sees your treehouse kind of smile and suspects you have a marvelous secret. Once you begin making trips to your treehouse, your secret will make you glow. Soon you will be able to be in a treehouse state of mind whether you are up there or on the ground of day-to-day life. Part of you will always dwell serenely in the treehouse of your heart. The heights you will reach will be astounding. The treetops will be your home. AND TODAY . . . Begin to build your treehouse today. Rest comfortably (under a tree would be good) and imagine your treehouse. Of what is it constructed? Pine, maple, bricks of gold? If you have windows in it, what are the views? Oceans, forests, your kingdom? Will you furnish it? With what? Mahogany, rattan, shapeshifting pieces? Of what is the floor made? Carpet, tile, sunbeams? What objects will you place up there? Dishes, candles, a Genie’s lantern? In your treehouse, you might have incense of all your favorite smells to permeate your new space. VERY important: choose the emotions you want to imbue your treehouse. Feel them and let them fill the place you are building just as incense fills a room with fragrance. Take lots of time to create your treehouse. Know you can create and re-create and then create some more. Construction can be ongoing or it can be done for now; it is up to you. Today hang out in the treehouse of your heart. Enjoy the towering freedom. Today will be the first of many when you abide for a while in your treehouse. It will become a place you visit more and more frequently. It will grow more vivid for you with each new day. This nook in your heart will enrich your life and your soul. Hear the loud peals and quiet chimes of your freedom and independence. Celebrate. Raise the roof of your treehouse with merriment and thankfulness. | |
|