Have you seen flying ants?

Cookie: “Dandy, look! I found a lot of flying ants!”
Dandy: “What color are they?”
Cookie: “White. Where do they go?”
Dandy: “Wherever the wind carries them.”
Cookie: “Where did they come from?”
Dandy: “Your bed. Give it a few taps.”
Cookie taps. Dust bursts forth like confetti in the sunlight.
Cookie: “WOW! I did magic! Look, there was nothing. And now I made so many of them! Look at them go! Whoa!”
Damdu: “Cookie, we call it DUST.”

To a child, dust isn’t just dust—it’s movement, wonder, and the joy of discovery. As adults, we’re quick to sweep it away, literally and figuratively. But maybe, if we paused to look closer, we’d see the beauty in even the smallest, messiest bits of life.

Magic isn’t always about creating something extraordinary—it’s about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Dust or flying ants, it’s all in the perspective.

Years later, while exploring a state park, our camera captured the rainbow of dust created by light in moving water.
In that moment, I couldn’t help but wonder, how could this be hiding in plain sight?
Or did I miss it like the flying ants?
Did I see it through my camera because my kid had has been teaching me to seek out little wonders by pointing them out to me often?
Whatever the reason maybe, everytime I visit a waterfall in the future, I will be looking for this. I want to train my eyes to see magic!

And to answer the question, Flying ants are real! Cookie wasn’t totally off, just that it was not the case on that given day.

What small wonders have you seen lately that made you pause and smile?

I will leave you with a simple mindfulness exercise to think about, or rather see.
Whether at home or work, take a 1-minute pause to notice something around you that you wouldn’t usually see—like the pattern in a cloud, the play of shadows, or the texture of a leaf. For kids, make it a game of spotting “hidden treasures” in the world around them. This practice helps us appreciate the magic in the small details.

Hi there! I truly believe that children are born wise, and we adults have so much to learn from them. Somewhere along the way, we’ve lost touch with our innate wisdom—buried under all the “grown-up” stuff society throws at us.
I see every moment with my kids as a chance to learn, and I love sharing those little lessons with you. I hope they bring you a smile or a fresh perspective.
I’d also love to hear from you—what’s something you’ve learned from a child in your life recently? Did it make you pause and look inward, even just a little?
My book series, A Nourishing Cookie Story, is packed with these kinds of lessons, inspired by kids. You can check them out on Amazon, and—watch them come to life on my YouTube channel.