As a father of three little girls, I see them making stuff every day. On our cluttered counter are: a beautiful castle, a makeshift paper house, a Lego swimming pool, and an overflowing pile of drawings and paintings. Beyond these physical works, they walk around the house singing made-up songs, dancing to newly made dance moves.
Just two days ago they were making believe that they were all going on a work trip to China so they could save endangered pandas.
They make these things in the moment with little thought to process or reward. They just make and make and make, each day bringing more things from their imagination into the real world.
As we all “grow out” of this magical phase, we start focusing on making other things; making good grades, making the team, making money, making trains, making meetings, making deadlines, making plans. Making ourselves “better.”
All of these come less with the spontaneous joy of childhood creations and instead carry the invariable stress that adulthood brings.
If we’re lucky, we still find time to make connections; to make smiles; to make a difference. But it usually isn’t what we focus most of our energy on.
So what will you make today? Maybe your days of making pictures and playing make believe are long behind you. But they don’t have to be.
At the very least, it doesn’t take much to make someone’s day with a smile, a compliment, or a note of appreciation.
Just make yourself available.
After all, the true beauty of making comes not solely from the act of making, but in the act of sharing that naturally follows.
Here’s to making something magical today.