The sun set with rays of rose-pink. It was one of those magical nights, as are they all, when we are called to notice and pause.
On Friday I was at a playground. There were no children at the time but a friend pointed out how the children use their imaginations with the structures. In one place there is a shelf between two bars. She said the children love to play "store" there. I remembered how my children had a cardboard store and loved to play "store". It reminded me of how much we are in exchange. Children see us choose things, and in exchange for money, well, in those days anyway, it was cash in exchange. I suppose today children see credit cards or smart phones cross a screen, but it used to be an actual exchange of cash as in a Monopoly game. I thought the game of Monopoly was developed during the depression so people could have the experience of handling money but I go to Wikipedia and learn that it was developed in 1903 to demonstrate that an "economy which rewards wealth creation is better than one in which monopolists work under few constraints." Hmmm! What would we do without the internet and Wikipedia?
Learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_(game)
I think now of how groceries and other goods are often delivered to the house. Children may not see the actual exchange of goods and money. Does that make a difference in their perception of exchange?
And yet my understanding is that children still love to play "store". And imagination is still our greatest toy and tool. What does your imagination inspire, open, and twirl today?