I recently wrote this for a friend, on the occasion of her birthday.
I love youth. The thing is certainly not to be messed with, although it can be a bit messy. Some smiles have a way of saying everything that could ever be said on the subject, and much more. The funny part is that the owner of the smile can defy the message. They can be old enough to fold their youth ten times over or young enough to not even speak the word, and yet, the message is unmistakable. Look at me. I choose to live. To really live.
I prefer to think of youth as a choice, a deliberate habit, an established set of priorities that pile up to form a style for living.
To play in all matters of life, work and love. To get lost. To not be where one is expected to be. To be curious. To be surprised. To begin a thing without any attempt to measure what it might mean to finish. To accept. To ignore. To question and explore everything under the sun and stars, within and beyond.
To change. To fall. To bang yourself up. To brush yourself off. To listen and believe. To listen and doubt. To accept the rhythm of things and dance without an angle or an aim. To accept the heat, and run into it. To accept the cold, and cover up. To love easily. To be loved. To move, almost relentlessly. To create.
Age cannot possibly measure these things. We count with marbles, but we can also loosen the tie and pour them out. Let them roll.
When you love someone, truly, you celebrate them every day of the year, in your own little ways and shapes. They may touch in and out. They may not come home for awhile. They may be hard to pin down, to see or touch or hold. This is especially true of the young, at any age, because they simply must explore.
Occasionally though, an opportunity comes around for you to say and show just precisely how and why you love them. And how they light you up. These opportunities should not be missed for the world, because youth needs reminding and encouragement. It begs to be seen and celebrated. And it can always take a push towards something a little out of reach. A push that says, surely, humbly, and in a very quiet way…
You will go higher.
