A Boy, Bliss and C. S. Lewis

Little lads are so very deft at finding bliss in the ordinary. Nothing is common to them, only adventure and delight.

So it was in the garden yesterday. It was the (almost) weekly gathering of the Thursday Havarti Club. (Confession here, cheese, alas was missing from yesterday's sandwiches. Apologies to Aunt Mimi.)

The day was hot.

As is always his M.O., Little Lad went exploring. Finding the garden scooter he was pleased. Having lovely big wheels and sized just right for the boy in question to push or pull with ease, it was perfect. Then came the next thrill of discovery. It has a lid which opens revealing a fine empty inside. Empty inside? Add water. Now we are getting somewhere.

That object and that lad pretty much spent the afternoon together. To watch him in the initial discovery of the endless possibilities once there was water was amazing. At first it was just sticking one foot in and taking it out. Squeals of delight followed each 'sticking'. There was the endless rhythm of standing outside and splashing, cupping the hands and tossing droplets about. More squeals. When Aunt Mimi joined in the fun it became even better. Shared fun is always the best fun.

When momentary weariness came, sitting in the cool wet soothed the spirit.

For the watcher, the experience of the moment, the simplicity of the event, the immensity of the pleasure caught the spirit up in thought. The Moment. The Bliss. There were no thoughts of the pollution of the water, of the fragility of the world's ecosystem. There were no thoughts of wars and rumors of wars. It was all about Now, about cool, wet wonder. The glorious sight of sun reflected in the tossed about drops, the sensation on the skin when they fell back to earth.

"These pure and spontaneous pleasures are patches of Godlight...adoration in infinitesimals."
These pleasures are, after all, "shafts of the Glory".

All this is the stuff of praise!

(Phabulous Photo courtesy of the Lad's amazing Nana; quotations, as noted, courtesy of Dr. Lewis)