Monday, December 10, 2007

Unleash Your Imagination

I watched Bridge to Teribithia with the kids yesterday and it opened up so many old memories.

I used to play out the back of our house in Dunedin and we had a creek and native bush and then a massive hill reserve covered in pine forest. As kids we would spend hours with the neigbourhood kids exploring the creek and the bush. I used to have this one special place that was magic to me and noone else could see me. It was on a little plateau up above the creek and one day I saw a sack of kittens that had been biffed in the creek.
I saved them.
I loved that feeling.

Childhood is a fabulous time where you can let your imagination run wild and it serves as a great balancer to life's everyday stresses.

I need to go play in the forest.

Funnily enough, on Saturday morning we had Peta's dance concert at Oxford Town Hall and we had an hour and a half to kill while the kids got ready for the concert. It was a beautiful hot day and we drove about 10 mins to Ashley Gorge and took the wee girls on a "fairy drive" through all these trees and Phoebe LOVED it.







There is plenty of free natural imagination inducing wonder out there, go forth enjoy it. Whether you have kids or not, get out to your magic place and free your mind.

8 comments:

The Candid Bandit said...

This is a great post.

It made me think and although Im nowhere near my magical childhood place, I have been capturing some childhood feelings with Christmas light hunting recently.

I love the magical feeling I get when I drive up to a house that is covered in Xmas lights. It does something to me.

Thanks for writing this...

Leighanne said...

I read that book at school:)
The pic's are lovely..wish I could go there!!

Cinders said...

Great photos - It looks so beautiful.

**Mellisa** said...

How beautiful!! And you want to leave all that to move closer to ME!!!??? How sweet!!! *giggle*

LaLa said...

You know, my Mum was a bit rubbish at remembering to make lunches or signing excursion slips but she always had time to sit down and build a fairy dell with me, or write letters from the fairies and that meant so much more than a crap ham sandwich.

Thanks for such a lovely post Jules.

m said...

That is gorgeous. Damn I miss New Zealand.

Loved Bridge to Teribitiah. Yes it was like my childhood also. Didn't save any kittens though. Tried to save a bird from other birds once. Poor thing.

Anonymous said...

I watched this movie recently & really enjoyed it! I don't think I could have watched it with kids though - I was sobbing towards the end.

My sister & I would spend hours & hours on our farm when we were kids playing out fantasies. Even when we were older, we'd ride our bikes down to the river & do more of the same! Love it! Living in the city now I see (& know) kids who have limited imaginations, needing a TV, game or someone else to be creative.

Beautiful post & timely reminder Jules!

Spiky Zora Jones said...

OH honey...i love this. The pics are fab...takes me back to my itty bitty days. A skinny kid swimming in the river with the sisters and brothers, chasing butterflies and swiping the neighbor's apple and pear orchards. They taste so much better when they are "borrowed" but not like we would give them back. hehehe.

ciao babes.