The world is so much bigger when you’re younger.
You can’t reach the fridge, even on your tippy toes. A lizard is an ancient creature that can swallow your eyes whole if you’re not careful. That lamppost on the corner of your street is a beam with a star nestled at its peak.
But despite how often we’re marketed to and convinced of the latest anti-aging fad, and no matter how hard any of us try to slow it down or fight it, we all grow up. With every passing day, our perspectives begin to shift as our eyelines do. Reality trickles in. As it encroaches, we get entangled in the humdrum of everyday life: homework, errands, timesheets, creaky knees, broken water heaters, and the constant stream of noise. If we don’t take notice, we might go through the motions until we'll eventually look up and ask where it all went, this life we were supposed to be living.
Lately, I’ve been reminded of how essential it is to embrace that wide-eyed child within me. To imagine freely and play more often. Because life is too short not to.
Dust Off Your Imagination and Be Free 💭
It is quite something to watch my adorable nephew as he leans into the simple joys of becoming. He’s one to find so much intrigue in something as plain as a plastic storage container. He’ll throw it on his head, stumbling around like a baby astronaut. Or plop down inside of it and shout to be slid around on the carpet, laughing and drooling all along the way.
What’s going on in that little head of his? Maybe nothing, maybe everything. I’m not sure, but whatever it is, there’s an admirable freedom in the way he lives. Because whenever I get a chance to watch him, I applaud his abandon. His wobbling around. How he picks something up and puts it back down. Or the way he’ll randomly lie down for a nap in the middle of the kitchen floor, then beg for a banana to fuel more mischief afterwards.
“I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I cared what people thought of me,” writes Sally Rooney in Normal People. My nephew definitely doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. He just, well, is. Poop, naps, food, and toothy laughs.
How often do we get caught up in the trap of the spotlight effect, thinking everyone cares about every little thing we do? Am I really that important to be the focus of every person I encounter? Imagine if you could just live without the worries of the perceptions of others. Would you be freer to be you, rather than forcing yourself into the mold of what you think they want you to be?
Whether you want to be silly and whimsical every now and then, take an intimidating dance class, or pick up a book from a genre that you wouldn’t consider yourself the primary audience of, the only permission you need is your own.
The Gift of Play 🏓
For a handful of times now, a few coworkers and I have chosen to play pickleball on Fridays. See, Fridays are the start of our weekend, so local parks are wonderfully sparse. It’s become a little tradition that I’ve come to look forward to. I’ll slather on some SPF, grab a paddle, and head outside for some fun, competitive cardio with great company.
This kind of state of play has also become increasingly helpful as I try to stop my mind from running away from me. Not only the act of being in community with people I care about, but the movement of it all. The gift it brings. I can just sweat and shuffle, chat with my friends, and let go for a few hours. Ultimately, we’re just playing games. But it’s nevertheless all so important, especially as we get older and play is no longer built into our everyday routines.
We must make the space and find those rhythms of play on our own. It’s always entirely worth it.
Reclaiming Wonder 🫶
There are so many ways you could start now and tap back into your inner child. Whatever reminds you of then, do it. Or find a new way of imagining and play that works for you today. It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing thing. There's no need to have a binary view between childlike wonder and reality. The beauty is in the balance, the doing what we can right now, not to escape life, but add color and awe back into to it. Just take a simple step, with as much space as you can designate, whether it’s a weekend or 10 minutes before bed. Moments for childlike wonder might seem like a little thing, but little things become big things over the course of a lifetime.
We often complicate so much, when all we really need is to go back to the basics. Here are some potential ways you could invite a splash of wonder back into your life:
- Read a fantasy book
- Go to a museum
- Join a club
- Journal a page a day
- Do a puzzle with friends and loud music
- Spend a day without your phone
- Start a coloring book
👋 Got other fun ideas or have thoughts about "childlike wonder?" Respond to this email and let me know!
