A gaggle of Grade 4 girls celebrated with my daughter for her 9th birthday last week at a trampoline park. The squeals of delight, the contagious laughter and the boundless energy filled the night with happiness. To be nine. When opportunities are endless, there is always a game to play, and imaginations soar.
There is something to be said about living life as an adventure. Of squeezing every drop out of every moment. Of finding joy in a game of tag or a make-believe world.
Somewhere along the way the game of life makes us too busy for games. We may still be running, but we're running to keep up.
We might find ourselves back in a place where we can see that daily joy again, but it's often in the sunset of our lives. As Pablo Picasso once said, "It takes a long time to become young."
But why not start sooner? Why not start today?
Sharon Draper once said, "Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It's the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps."
May we take in sips of joy each and every day. And as Greg Anderson once said, "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."
Live each day like it's your 9th birthday party and be young for the rest of your life.