Doing Whatever Comes to Mind

Yesterday, I took my ten-year-old son to the mall to buy a swimsuit.

He picked one and put it on, then lay right down on the floor and started making swimming motions, pretending he was swimming. After a while, he stood up and said, with a completely straight face: mm, this swimsuit is pretty good, it really suits me.

I couldn't stop laughing.

Another time, I took him to try on shoes. I said, run a little, see if they're comfortable.

And he really ran. Straight out of the store, a full lap around outside, and back again. The salesperson and I were both a little stunned.

I said "run a little," and he simply, happily, ran a whole lap.

When he saw a good friend he hadn't seen in half a year, he was so happy he went straight in for a shoulder throw.

The other day, a good friend of Dapeng's came by, someone we also hadn't seen in half a year. The moment this friend saw Dapeng, he was so happy he rushed over and tickled my husband.

And a friend of mine, seeing another friend he hadn't seen in a long time, just hoisted the whole person up off the ground, and refused to put her down until she admitted he'd gotten cooler.

At lunch today, I went downstairs to eat, and saw two young delivery riders, maybe just past twenty. In the gap between orders, they were standing back to back, one lifting the other up onto his back, just messing around and playing.

Ha, just thinking of these scenes makes me laugh.

I realized they all seem to be their whole, complete selves.

Child or grown-up, at ease or busy making a living, whatever's in their heart, they just do it, without being able to help it. Want to swim? Lie down and swim. Want to run? Run. Happy? Rush right in, hug, hoist, tickle. Tired? Grab a spare moment, lift each other up, and play. No going round and round in between, no "is this appropriate," no "what will people think."

How good. How lovely.

— Marie, Founder of Lyfairs