Isn’t it a joy to watch a child with a new plaything? It really is a pleasure. As parents, we delight in their ability to focus on something so exclusively, to give themselves over to it in the “flow” of play. We can’t get enough of it. However, that natural ability can be derailed by having too many things to choose from, too much “stuff.” Nothing in the middle of a heap can be truly valued. The attention that a child could and would devote to a toy is shortened, and eclipsed by having too many. Instead of expanding their attention, we keep it shallow and unexercised by our compulsive desire
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