The Younger You Is Still Waiting

Ram Dass wrote,

“Remember, man’s natural state is ecstatic wonder, ecstatic intuition, ecstatic accurate movement. Don’t settle for less.”

Read that again. Natural state.

Not the special moment. Not the peak experience. The foundation.

You were there at eight.

The fort built for no reason.

Hitting tennis balls against the garage for hours.

Then adulting came.

Something really changed. Not just on the outside. Inside too.

Competence instead of wonder.

Productivity over play.

You start managing tomorrow. But you weren’t excited about it.

When did you last do anything for no reason?

Wake up filled with wonder?

Perhaps you were good at life.

But then somewhere inside it, a boredom arose.

But an old photo can revive that spirit. That kid’s face, lit from inside.

And your chest twists.

It is not nostalgia.

It is homesickness.

You miss you.

Because underneath the homesickness is a fear:

that growing up, that adulting, is a one-way door.

Your joy and freedom ending at 16.

But that kid did not go far.

And they have been keeping something for you.