A Shimmer in the Quiet |The Magic of Noticing Small Things

A Shimmer in the Quiet

There are moments with children when the world seems to pause.
Not for anything grand,
but for something impossibly small.

A flicker.
A softness.
A glint of colour just at the edge of knowing.

Children catch these moments before we do.
They drift closer to the hum of things,
closer to the heartbeat of the world,
closer to the places where wonder tucks itself away.

I watched Otto once, held inside a moment like that.
Not speaking, breathing so softly, as if he paused in the breath before breaths,
noticing doorway had opened only wide enough for him.

It reminded me of the old Andean whispers about the q’ente-
the hummingbird who moves between worlds
carrying threads of light finer than breath.
A keeper of tiny miracles.
A messenger of soft presence and delicate endurance.

Children understand this without needing to be told.
They don’t search for magic, they receive it,
as if their hearts are tuned to the bright quiet
where small things shine.

Perhaps that is why the world reveals itself to them first:
in glimmers, in wingbeats, in barely-there colours
that shimmer only when we slow down.

There is always a shimmer in the quiet, waiting for all of us.
We only need to soften enough
to see it.

More ways to wander with us 

More Quiet Ways to Notice the World

For a companion reflection on deep attention, you might like:
The Toucan and the Listening Branch

For a gentle parenting guide to help children sense the world more deeply, explore:
Helping Children Practise Deep Listening

To step softly into Otto & Bear’s story world, begin with the free illustrated tale:
A Quiet Story for You