There’s a photo of me painting my little sister’s face when I was a kid and she was just a toddler. No audience, no rules—just instinct and joy. It’s funny to look at now and realize: I wasn’t “practicing” for my future. I was already living it.
That paintbrush was a toy and tool of connection.
I share this now as a reminder—mostly to myself—that staying child-like isn’t regression. Acting childish is… That spark we start with? It’s not meant to be snuffed out by adulthood. It’s meant to evolve into something deeper. More skillful, yes—but never less spirited.
Vitality keeps something alive in yourself. A kind of curiosity that doesn’t calcify. A sense of color and wonder that refuses to fade.
So here’s to face paint, sisters, and staying soft in a world that tells us to harden. The magic was never something we outgrow. It’s something we return to on purpose.