Robert Fulghum, the author of Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, said all he ever needed to know he learned in school. Kevin Carroll said the secret was in basketball when he wrote The Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. I think the wisdom of the life can be found in the sandbox. Yes, I said the sandbox; that special place where little people come and go and build and dream and learn that nothing in life is solved without a little bit of sand in your eye and a whole lot of imagination. Life is full of sand.
When I was little, I spent a lot of time people watching. I watched my parents, by siblings, my friends and the people at church as I tried diligently to figure out what the rules in life were. Eventually, I ended up in the sandbox with nothing but sand and my thoughts. As a few friends wandered in, I listened and watched. I saw how important cooperation was to their building of their dream castles and how happy they were as they worked to together and talked and laughed. It made me smile and I liked the feeling of that smile in my belly.
A funny thing about the sandbox is sometimes it is hot and sometimes it feels cold. Either way my toes like it. As I scooped the sand with my hand and watched it pour out through my tiny fingers, I realized that with each grain of sand, no matter how small, was enormous creative potential. I set my mind to building a castle. I persevered, though it was difficult. There were bullies who would come to the sandbox and tear down my castle. There were others on the playground that would laugh and tell me I was not capable. But I was determined and one of the great things about the sandbox is that new people come to play! As new friends joined, I learned yet another valuable lesson of life. It takes the kindness of others, whether in words or actions, to make dreams come true.
Days would pass when the rains would come and no one was allowed to go out to the playground. The sandbox would just sit there empty and alone. Even then I would watch it as the groundskeeper would come and keep it clean and covered. There was a sense of respect in the way he covered it, almost as if he knew the secret of the sandbox held the laws of life. He smiled. When the rays of sun returned and we could go back out to the sandbox, I realized sometimes life is not always fair. Matter-of-fact it is rarely “fair”. Sometimes, it rains and no one can play. Sometimes, you have to rotate your place and sometimes when you are last, you do not get to even play at all. Since life is not fair, people need to be really aware of the importance of fairness and equity. The sandbox taught me fairness is colorblind (especially since you can’t see with sand in your eyes).
As I grew older and my days in the sandbox were fewer and farther between, I felt a little lost until I realized the world is just like the sandbox with its opportunities to play, share, be fair, be kind, persevere and be courageous. I recognized that dreams do not happen without a few grains of sand in your eyes. Perseverance and kindness are essential to success and nothing feels as satisfying as the smile you can feel all the way to your belly. People need sand. It can soften the rough spots, bring people together and build some of the world’s most amazing dreams. So no matter whether or not, for you, it was kindergarten, the red rubber ball of the playground, or the sandbox--like it was for me, the rules are there for you to make your own; to mold who you are; to push you forward toward your dreams. Life needs sand.