Unadulterated

Perhaps this fall season is more vivid and stunning than those past, or perhaps it is my child’s excitement that allows me to more rapidly recognize the beauty surrounding me.  

“Look at that red, Momma!” she points and calls from the back seat of the car, “It’s soooo pretty!” I can’t see her beautiful face, her nose and cheeks patterned with delicate little angel kisses, but I can hear the genuine excitement in her youthful voice.

Because I have been commanded to do so, I now call my own attention to the picturesque trees along the side of the road, changing colors and catching my daughter’s eye with sincere, unadulterated delight.

Unadulterated. Adjective. 1. Not diluted or made impure by adulterating.  2. Utter; absolute. 

Though the dictionary would provide a somewhat different definition, I consider that word now. Unadulterated. Un – adult: free of adult perspectives.  To see the world as we did when children. To recognize beauty and joy without the challenges and contests of adulthood.  To take authentic delight in daily occurrences.

We all need to more often be unadulterated – to remove the fouled filters of age and see the world through fresh, fledgling eyes.  To see that all the splendor and happiness in the entire world is evident in one single newly altered, radiant red leaf.  We allow beauty to fall before our very eyes and go unnoticed.  Worse yet, we complain about the cold weather to come or the chores to be done. We need to stop and watch the world with an unadulterated lens.  We need to smile and call out to others, “Look! Look at all the magnificence that surrounds you! Do you even see? Do you even realize?” 

Unadulterated.  To allow happiness into your life.  To examine the world with a vista of joy.  To truly live.