From Joan B. MacDonald and her book ‘The Holiness of Everyday Life’:
The scriptures often admonish us to become like little children. There are many ways to interpret that admonition, but we would probably all agree that we are not to remain childish or naive. The interpretation that I have always preferred is that we are to remain open and teachable. Eastern religions say it another way, admonishing their followers to consider themselves as beginners throughout their lives. Like the idea of becoming, the idea of always beginning brings a kind of freedom. To be a beginner is to be free to make and admit mistakes. To be a beginner is to be free to start over with any aspect of our lives. To be a beginner is to be free to redefine ourselves whenever, however, and however often we might choose, for truly you and I are not the same people today that we were last year or even last week, and we will not be the same tomorrow as we are today. To be a beginner is to free ourselves from preconceptions, misconceptions, judgments, and expectations. To be a beginner is to remove ourselves from any ruts we may be in and to free ourselves from the chains of habits. We try to move into each new day empty and open, receptive to whatever new insights we might gain and whatever lessons we can learn.
I’ve never been able to be that open all the time, so help myself, I like to play little mind games, my own version of “lets pretend”. You might want to try some of these exercises. The next time you go to church on Sunday, go as if you’ve never been there before. Pretend you were raised a Hindu, for example. You’ve never before heard the talks and prayers or hymns you will hear today. You’ve never met the people before. You’ve never considered the ideas before. Open up! Go with no expectations, no preconceptions, no judgments, no resentments, and no fond memories. You’ll hear things you’ve never noticed before, be surprised at what has become commonplace and notice and want to befriend people whom you might have overlooked before.
Pretend to be new at old things. Try it the next time you go to the temple. Pretend it’s your first time. Go without expectations, no questions needed to be answered, no ideas you have wondered about, no things that have helped you in the past. Go empty, just to see what it’s like. You’ll notice things you’ve never seen before.
Try it the next time you and your spouse go on a date. Pretend it’s your first one. Ask questions you would ask on a first date. What are your hobbies and interests? What is your favorite subject to read about? What do you like best about your job? Then ask those kinds of questions, but in the context of being married. What do you like about being married? What do you admire most about each of your children? What do you worry about most? What did you do before you were married that you don’t do now and that you miss the most?
Try it with your children. Pretend you are the babysitter and you’ve never met the kids before. What upsets you? Are you overlooking problems as a mom or dad that you would not tolerate in a neighbor’s family? Those are the things you need to spend some time on next.
Try it with yourself. Today you are starting brand new. Just for today the calendar is wiped clean. . . . ~Joan B. MacDonald, The Holiness of Everyday Life (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995), 38-39
