Regaining the wow in life
April 6, 2022
By Jeff Becraft
One of our grandsons is named Levi. He is about 1 ½ years old. One of Levi’s favorite words is “Wow.” Except he doesn’t say it that way. He stretches it way out and says in a low, awe-struck voice – “Wwwwwoooooooowwwwww.”
If I have the story correct, I think he first started saying this when he would see an airplane. He would point up into the sky and say, “Wwwwwoooooooowwwwww.” And then look to you as if to say, “Did you see that?”
Last October, Brenda and I went to see Levi and his parents, Corrie and Ben. One day we went to the zoo (one of the highlights of my entire 2021). Every exhibit we went to with a new creature, you could count on my man coming through – ““Wwwwwoooooooowwwwww.”
We have become used to so many things.
Some big items and some not-so-big items… but still significant. There are so many things in our lives that we have simply become used to. It’s no big deal. We have lost the “wow.”
Being childish doesn’t look good on anybody… even if you are 1 ½ years old. But being childlike… that is a different story. We then begin to see… and appreciate… and be grateful for… things that we might otherwise simply brush off as commonplace.
But it is in the commonplace where we live most of our lives.
It is just like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. After he had been gallivanting around with Clarence for a while, and had lost all the commonplace things of his life – things he had grumbled and complained about – that when his life went back to normal, he now rejoiced in each of those commonplace things, even kissing the rail knob on the staircase. Something he had bitterly despised earlier. The things he had complained about now had a new meaning and beauty.
Perhaps we sometimes need a shift in our attitude. Perhaps it is good in our mature, responsible-laden, calendar-driven lives to take some moments to be more childlike and really appreciate the things in our lives.
To take a moment and to look and embrace and be grateful and say, “Wow.”
Except you really do need to drag it out and say it in a low, awe-struck voice – “Wwwwwoooooooowwwwww.”
Jeff Becraft is the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Youth Corps is a life-changing leadership development experience that inspires high school students to be leaders in the Midlands and beyond. You can connect with Jeff at [email protected].
