I loved the image of second-grade you standing on a playground mixing leaves and twigs together, convinced there had to be some hidden knowledge inside them. Reading this reminded me how many of the things that end up shaping our lives start exactly like that, not as plans or goals, but as small fascinations that refuse to disappear.
Looking back, I can trace a surprising amount of my own life to childhood curiosities that kept resurfacing over the years. Travel, nature, endurance sports, understanding how different people live, none of them arrived out of nowhere. They were all there in some form long before I had the language for them.
What struck me most in your piece wasn’t really the plants. It was the idea that some interests go dormant for decades and then suddenly return when we’re finally ready to follow them. Those are often the ones worth paying attention to.
Thanks for reading Mats. I love the phrase "small fascinations that refuse to disappear" lying dormant until we're ready to follow them as you said, I think that captures it beautifully. I think most of us tend to have a sense as children whether something is meant for us, if there's something that holds some type of magic to shape us into who we're meant to become. Same as you, travel, nature, and learning how different people live were also there for me from an early age and those never really went away. Those curiosities existed in the background and some got paid more attention than others. As an adult, it's been a process of excavation and rediscovery, to see what still wants to be brought forth into my life tody.
This is wonderful Sarah. Awareness is everything, always follow the breadcrumbs:-)
May you continue to be curious and may your inner child continue to guide you. 🫶🏽 beautifully written Sarah.
thank you Karla!
Thanks for sharing ☺️🙏🏼
I loved the image of second-grade you standing on a playground mixing leaves and twigs together, convinced there had to be some hidden knowledge inside them. Reading this reminded me how many of the things that end up shaping our lives start exactly like that, not as plans or goals, but as small fascinations that refuse to disappear.
Looking back, I can trace a surprising amount of my own life to childhood curiosities that kept resurfacing over the years. Travel, nature, endurance sports, understanding how different people live, none of them arrived out of nowhere. They were all there in some form long before I had the language for them.
What struck me most in your piece wasn’t really the plants. It was the idea that some interests go dormant for decades and then suddenly return when we’re finally ready to follow them. Those are often the ones worth paying attention to.
Thanks for reading Mats. I love the phrase "small fascinations that refuse to disappear" lying dormant until we're ready to follow them as you said, I think that captures it beautifully. I think most of us tend to have a sense as children whether something is meant for us, if there's something that holds some type of magic to shape us into who we're meant to become. Same as you, travel, nature, and learning how different people live were also there for me from an early age and those never really went away. Those curiosities existed in the background and some got paid more attention than others. As an adult, it's been a process of excavation and rediscovery, to see what still wants to be brought forth into my life tody.