The other day Theo and I were heading inside after a nice time playing in the backyard. We were gathering all the toys that we didn’t want to leave in the elements (stuffed animals, wooden cars, etc.), and I asked him, “What else should we bring inside?” His response: “The sky.”

The kid has some pretty great ideas. He made me think about the view through my office window, how often I wish I wasn’t separated from nature by my “need” to “work.” He reminded me that some of my favorite days in school were the, “you know what, it really is a nice day, let’s have class outside” days. And they were some of my favorites as a teacher as well.

Theo loves being outside. He craves the fresh air, the light, the possibility of encountering some new aspect of the world he’s never seen before. He knows what makes him happy and he wants to bring more of that into his day. I realized I should keep looking for ways to do that in my own life. I should be on the lookout for opportunities to shed a little sunlight where there is typically only florescent. I should pump some fresh air into my stale workspace. Or I should take advantage of the chance to work outside when I can.

Once again, my toddler is a Zen master.

Or, he just happened to be looking at the sky when he answered.

What is your sky? How can you find ways to bring it inside, or meet it outside?