Please understand me
The universal language of bubbles, stickers, and doodles
Hello, friend!
It’s been a busy several weeks. I returned home from helping with a project in the Dominican Republic. It was a chance to see and support work being done to help children. A group of leaders, artists, and helpers across vastly different disciplines were invited to travel with Compassion Intl. To be included was a great honor.
I was excited. I wanted to help. I wanted to connect.
But, I felt inadequate. Really inadequate.
There are many languages I do not speak. This is not something I am proud of.
Many of you are multi-lingual. Several of you! A strong percentage of readers here reside in countries well beyond my small workshop here in Tennessee- a fact that astounds and humbles me.
I SHOULD HAVE PAID ATTENTION IN 9th-GRADE SPANISH.
I began prepping for the trip like cramming for one of those 9th-grade tests. What words do I need to know? How can I put together sentences that will connect with kids? What can I do to comprehend even a fraction of what is said to me?
Today, I share with you a reminder I needed: DELIGHT IS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.
In my travel backpack I had a few small items that unlocked some big connections:
bubbles
stickers
balloons
crayons
I have these blank craft stickers that are perfect.
With simple markers and crayons, you can turn them into anything you want.
It started with just a few kids on the playground. I began doodling on a few stickers. One young boy began shouting: “GATO!”
A request! I knew that word! CAT! He said cat! So I drew a cat.
This started a game of him calling out words and me desperately trying to decipher them. Through a blend of confused charades, wild hand motions, and super helpful translators we laughed our way into understanding.
Before I knew it, there were kids everywhere and I was covered in stickers. Together, the kids and I created lots of colorful badges. We’d also created quite a crowd.
The next day I discovered similar fun can be found with just colored pencils and notecards. Kids gathered and laughed as I tried drawing portraits of them. They tried drawing portraits of me. I also again attempted to take requests. This resulted in lots of laughs and several new friends.
What I failed to say with words came out much better through doodles.
Simple play can create deep connections. There’s something special about time spent together laughing, no matter the language or setting. Delight, it seems, truly is universal. Time spent just playfully - and profoundly- being human together is life-giving in ways that go beyond words.
Fred Rogers often sang the wise words “There are many ways to say I love you” I’m learning how true that is. There are so many ways of communicating care beyond language. It almost pains me to write that. I love words. I make a living writing books! Yet, I’ve returned home with a newfound appreciation for the true connection I can find in those things we do for each other that transcend words.
From bubbles and doodles to listening and supporting to seeing and serving.
Listening communicates so much, and yet, does so without words. Taking the time to look thoughtfully into someone’s eyes speaks volumes. Caring connects us and, in it, we find understanding. Maybe we best find each other out in that space beyond words.
Earlier this week, I was at a school function here in my small town.
I looked around at the other dads.
Many were dressed for their days at work - in offices, factories, or shops.Some were in camo from morning hunts. Each of them with routines far different from my own. (My front shirt pocket had sketches of mice in it for a picture book I’m working on.)
I felt the same culture-panic I’d just experienced in a completely different country. What do I have in common with these men? How could I possibly speak with them? I’m inadequate to connect here. I don’t speak their language.
Today, I share this reminder for myself and all of you.
We have our professions. We have our politics. We have all the many things we allow to define us and words we use to draw those lines between us. Yet, I like how Maya Angelou put it: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
Connection is found in caring and caring is something we can all understand.
Bubbles or stickers might not be the exact solution in this gathering with vastly different dads. But I’m certain I can be of meaningful presence in other ways. Maybe, instead of scrambling to find the right words, I can try to remember I’m in exactly the right place to be present and to care.
To see and notice more.
To serve and celebrate more.
Beyond words.
“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
Store! JOY REBEL shirts are back in stock. You can also find art prints, mugs, and other goodies. Everything ships directly to you from our workshop in Tennessee. Order now!
Speaking! Dates are beginning to fill up for 2024. Let’s team up!
Support! Interested in helping with the work I mentioned in the Dominican Republic? Want to help support other projects I’m involved with that benefit children and families? Drop me a note!
Looks like you had great time, thanks for sharing. Anything that shows you are open to fun and communication must be a good thing.
This is wonderful advice, thank you for what you do for others.
Bringing some joy and community helps everyone understand they are part of this great world and they belong here with everyone. I have had the great opportunity to be in a one street town and see how a couple soccer balls bring everyone out to join in and enjoy their day.