The Little Girl on The Subway

It is 12:53 pm in Jamaica, New York. I sit comfortably and at ease in the subway on my way to Harlem, New York to see an old friend. I notice a little girl across from me. She was on the lap of who appeared to be her mother, who was sitting next to who appeared to be the little girl’s father. The little girl was full of joy. She was playing with the mom by making faces at her and pulling on her shirt while her mom was moving her around. She might have been about 2 years old. At one point, she stood on the subway seat and stared out the window.

This little girl has no idea where she is going or what is going on. She is just being a kid and she knows her mother and father are there for her. Her worries are nonexistent. I watched her and her family get off at their subway stop. The little girl held her mother’s hand while looking back to where she was sitting. It was the cutest thing ever.

Why do we lose our inner child as we get older? We become so serious and so focused on chasing our dreams or making money, that often we forget to be present and appreciate what’s right in front of us. This little girl was present. She didn’t care about yesterday or tomorrow. She only cared about right now, which was the moment she was living in.

As mentioned earlier, the little girl was standing on the subway and staring out the window. She was engaged with the walls she saw through the window as the train was moving. She was taking it all in and probably even wondered about what exactly she was seeing.

Aristotle says children are known for wondering, which many of us stop doing as we get older. We become less open to new schools of thought. We’d rather just get from point A to point B than to live in the moment and engage. The little girl was full of joy and wonder because she would not let life pass her by. Maybe she has the right idea - to live life to the fullest.