Once upon a time, there was a little girl born with a very special gift. She was born with the gift of quiet. Not the “thank goodness those kids finally shut up” kinda quiet some people mistake for a blessing. This little girl’s gift of quiet let her feel and share things from a place of calm and beauty.
Now, she was still a lot like other children her age. She ran and played. When she visited her Pop-Pop’s house, she loved to jump from the kitchen onto the porch like a superhero arriving just in the nick of time. In dance and tumbling class, she, of course, danced and tumbled with the best of them. She was a kid just like a kid should be in those ways.
It is the other ways that quiet made her more herself somehow. She read. A lot. Just like her mother did when she was that age. That was one of her favorite quiet times. A time when she took in other worlds and adventures that rode the expansion of imagination. She was quiet here because she was there. Inside the stories. She disappeared for a while and returned all the better.
She disappeared into movies and television shows as well. A magical suspension of belief that made the impossible possible. In moments like that, she was very far away. Part of her gift. Yet she was able to return to the now quickly. Provided of course there was something here to catch her interest.
Gardens and nature caught her interest. Walks. Playing. Sitting with her sisters, brother, cousins, and friends. Being with her family. Visiting her grandparents. School. Church. Drives in the car. All get her attention. All those thing caught her interest. When things caught her interest, she was fully present. She could participate or just watch. That was part of the gift of her quiet. She could watch from her quiet place. Inside herself.
Others got to be center stage. She watched and enjoyed as they showed their gifts. She was fully attentive….when she knew it was time to listen and feel. That was the gift of quiet at its best. She was able to be fully engaged for others.
We can learn a lot from the quiet ones. We can learn to focus as well as share. We can learn to really see things. To really feel things. To really let others know we are there. We can learn when to show and when to see. The little girl had the gift of quiet. Her name is Annie and I know here because she is my Granddaughter Annie is one of the quietest beings I ever met. That impresses me so much it can even make me quiet at times. Now, THAT is magic!
Happy 6th Birthday, Annie
Love, Pop-Pop
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