Missing that Childlike Wildlife

I'm in the living room printing off endless readings for the following week, when the newest addition to the household, Langi prances over and gazes at the printer with wonderment. His eyes dart back and forth from the paper going into the printer, to it coming out from the other end. He jumps onto the paper coming out from it, preventing it from coming out any further, and causing a paper jam within. As I shoe him off, he jumps instead on top of the printer, sticking his tiny paw inside the paper feed, looking back at me like "Wowzers, this is so cool."

I've been observing this little man since the time I finally got back to Seattle. I've admired his enjoyment in the smallest things, from his staring at my laptop screen and trying to "stop" my mouse from darting back and forth with his paw, to his chasing the wrong end of the cat toys (ie: chasing the plastic handle instead of the yellow pompoms on the other end).

After watching him swatting his paw at the curtain drawstrings, my roommate commented "Oh, the joys of youth."

When do our "joys of youth" end? Why does it even have to end? Of course, I'm not saying that we should all start finding joy in watching printers, but why do we need such elaborate and complicated things to be so happy? Why do we have to stress ourselves to be happy? In my opinion, there is so much to learn from this guy. The lesson he has to teach us is this: be grateful for what you have, and enjoy everything around you. Take what you've got, learn to be satisfied with it.

Live life with no regrets--if you do, then you're looking to the past too much. Is that what life's about? Dwelling in the past? What's that going to help with? Essentially, you're just staying stuck in one location. It's getting you NOWHERE. If you screwed up, then deal with it. Don't think of it as a mistake--take it as a lesson and learn from it.