Whenever I am feeling blah, I can go to YouTube, and within a few minutes find a video that is inspiring, or entertaining, or that has an element of the “wow” factor. Inspirational speeches by amazing people at amazing moments in history always give me a lift. I enjoy sports, so looking for amazing and inspiring moments in sports can occupy me for…let’s just say, quite a period of time.
A few days ago, I somehow found myself watching Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, introducing the very first iPhone for the very first time. The room was full of folks who probably had a lot riding on this new reveal from the CEO, and he didn’t disappoint. With drama but without over playing the event, he piqued their interest in what was coming and then unveiled this miracle of technology. It was, and it still is. I’d say the invention of the smart phone is one of the biggest deals in the last fifty years. Maybe more than that.
Remember the term, “PDA”? Personal Digital Assistants they were called. The Palm Pilot, the Blackberry, and others. They were palm sized, had a plastic keyboard on the bottom half, a small screen on the upper half and required a stylus to full efficiency. Big deals in the late 1990’s. but all gone now.
Those were the state-of-the-art devices in 2007. Until the iPhone. What I found so enjoyable was watching Steve unveil it to gasps of wonder and cheering, once folks realized what was up.
He introduced cutting-edge features, which we take totally for granted now, such as the ability to pinch an image and stretch it to fit the screen. That was the first time it’d been possible. The gasps of wonder and pure delight made me absolutely chuckle along with them. I image a fair number of those present would be responsible for marketing and sales. Can you imagine the pure joy of having for the very first time, something you know is going to take the world by storm—and they probably didn’t know the half of it.
Being present vicariously for that moment was worth the hour I invested.
It reminds me of a time shortly after we’d moved into our present town house. I had a fuchsia plant in full bloom hanging on the balcony. Our first grandson was still a toddler, and maybe pre-toddler, I can’t remember.
But I do remember I had picked him up and was out on the balcony showing him the sights. He couldn’t talk yet, but was enjoying the moment. I took him over to the fuchsia and held him so he could reach out and touch the hanging blossoms. I thought he might grab it and pull it off its stem. Instead, the most amazing thing happened. He reached out to touch one of the blossoms and then laughed with delight and surprise.
A child laughing with joy at touching a blossom he’d never seen before. You can imagine the impact on his grandpa! Priceless. For everything else there’s Visa. I’m sure you can find those on YouTube as well. Check it out next time you feel down. Or greatest moments in sports! That might work too.
Life gives us opportunities to see the world through wondering eyes. And some things don’t get old no matter how often you experience them. Take the time to be around small children to view the world through their eyes. But do wear a mask, and have parental permission.
I heard a story of a man who’d lived a godly life and was on his death-bed in the local hospital. He’d working as a lighting technician for a major studio. Visiting with his pastor shortly before his death he said, “Hey! Let me tell about what happened to me last night. When everyone was gone home and I was dozing, I’m positive I heard God’s voice, like in a dream say, ‘Art. How would you like to direct a sunrise?’”
Stay open to hearing what God, or some small child might be saying to you. You may see the world in a whole new way.