Lessons from a 2-year-old

I can learn a lot from Daisy.

Characteristic of children everywhere, her language is exploding. This middle-class, 21st century girl knows that "C" is for "computer" and "coffee." A toy is starting to be "mine" instead of "Daisy's." When I ask her to pull the plug in the bathtub, she responds with an off-the-cuff, "Oh yeah, sure, I can pull the plug!"

I've noticed little teleological tags that she adds to nouns. For example, she will note that a ladder is for climbing, smack her lips while explaining that a cup of milk is for drinking, and gesture excitedly to a bird that is, always, for chasing.

I smile at this simple 2-year-old worldview, one in which an object has a single purpose. She will outgrow this. By now, we adults can brainstorm a variety of verbs to attach to birds: watching, feeding, imitating, photographing... If pressed, I'm sure I could list 100 bird-verbs.

But sometimes, I like to silence the Creative Brainstorm-er and try to see my surroundings Daisy's way. Let's see, the piano is for playing (but when is the last time I did that?), the crumbs are for cleaning up (oh, don't remind me), and the bills are for paying. If I saw everything this way, I would be as energetic as a toddler, jumping from task to task as my eye wanders. When I take this mindset a step further, I can decide that tantrums are for patience building, rude service people are for forgiving, and homeless people are for helping.

And voila! I am on my way to sainthood and satisfaction; not by reading "The Purpose-Driven Life," but by copying my daughter. A bird is for chasing, after all.