You know what can be really overwhelming for kids and young adults? Having a whole life ahead of them. Exciting maybe, but also overwhelming. Lots of expectations, some of their own, some given to them by well intentioned friends and family. It might feel like one wrong turn and they’ll let people down. One wrong turn and they’ll be unhappy, they’ll miss their chance, they’ll get stuck.
In one of my favorite books, Les Miserables, there’s a scene where Jean Valjean is meeting Cosette for the first time. He’s witnessing her abuse and working out a deal with the shop keepers to take her home to care for her. I don’t remember the exact quote, but at one point, after buying her a doll she was eyeing, he says something to the effect of, “Just let her be a child”.
Sometimes I wish I could go back to being a child, not so I could do something different that would change the course of my life, but so that I could go back and just BE a child. Instead of worrying about what will be, just enjoy that time.
Well, since I can’t go back, maybe I should just take that advice right now.
Just enjoy today for today.
Don’t worry about tomorrow.
Take a walk.
Play the guitar.
Talk to the cat.
No expectations.
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