Hey friend,
This week I found myself learning from the smallest teacher in my house.
Young children live in the present moment in a way we adults almost forget how to do. They don’t think about what they should feel or what happened yesterday or what they need to earn before they get to rest.
They simply know what is happening in their body right now.
I’m hungry.
I’m sad.
I’m angry.
I’m tired.
I’m happy.
They don’t apologize for their needs. They don’t negotiate with them. They don’t bury them. They respond.
I’ve been watching my one year old lately and I’m honestly in awe of him. He laughs when we smile at him. He lights up when he figures something out. He crawls toward us with this pure determination that makes the whole room soften.
And when he doesn’t want something, he lets us know. Very clearly. Very forcefully.
There is something so honest about that. Something so unfiltered. Something that makes me wonder what would happen if we took even a tiny piece of that into adulthood.
What if we allowed ourselves to feel joy without earning it first.
Children don’t wait for a gold star before letting themselves feel delighted.
What if we honored our need for rest without justifying it.
Children don’t explain why they’re tired. Their bodies say it for them.
What if we let small moments pull us back into presence.
A smile. A laugh. A silly noise that comes out of nowhere.
Somewhere along the way, the little things got buried under fear and pressure and self-protection. Somewhere we learned that joy should be measured or rationed or balanced out with productivity.
But what if that’s not true.
What if joy is something we’re meant to receive freely.
So here’s something to sit with this week.
Ask yourself what would really go wrong if you let yourself feel something positive without questioning it.
What if you allowed joy to land in your body?
What if you let presence interrupt your thoughts?
What if you gave yourself permission to be a participant in your own life instead of a passerby?
We don’t need to throw a tantrum in Target to reconnect with our inner child.
But we can let them out a little.
We can let them breathe.
We can let them guide us back to what matters.
Maybe this week is an invitation to meet yourself with the same openness you give to the children you love.
With warmth,
Kimberlie
PS: I’d love to hear what moments your children or the little ones in your life have taught you. What have they reminded you about joy or being present?