Pinch yourself.

Underneath it all ? the foibles, the frailties the fears and the phobias, and still......you couldn't be an ounce more alive than you are right now.

I remember when i was a kid ? maybe 6 or 8 or 10 ? i would look at the world ? the little world that was mine ? and see nothing but oceans of opportunity to experience and explore.

I would look down and consider my arms ? my fingers and toes ? and think ? i am equipped for anything.

I am ferociously free.

How lucky can i be?

The world is my playground.

For I can do anything.

I can reach up and stretch to the sky ? i can move and run ? dash in any direction ? i can roll around on the ground and make a mess out of me ? i can scream and jump up and try to touch the stars...and when i land ? breathless and tired ? I can rest for a moment, so I can begin, and experience it all yet again.

"I am alive!" I would say.

How and why and what and where.....I never thought to care.

For the beginners mind.

Alive was enough.

Enough to fill my mind with endless oceans of excitement, opportunity and wonder for what adventures await.

The good news is, with a little bit of work, I've learned that never goes away.

It may feel a little bit silly when you start again.

But the playground is always there.

And even after all of these years.

It hasn't changed.

And really, underneath it all, neither have you.