The joy of silliness


Is it OK to drop your "dignity" now and then? My grandchildren certainly think it's OK, and time I spend with them tends to produce photos like the one attached. So in support of the silliness, I was pleased to come across this quote:
"Looking foolish does the spirit good. The need not to look foolish is one of youth's many burdens; as we get older we are exempted from more and more, and float upward in our heedlessness, singing Gratia Dei sum quod sum."
- John Updike
I #GiveThanks for the great blessing in getting older and forgetting some of the needless inhibitions of "youth" - though to be accurate, I would suggest that most of what I describe as youth are much less inhibited, and that quality develops in early adulthood. As Updike suggested, we should all love to sing, "By God's grace, I am what I am."
And some of what we are is, or should be, spontaneous, light-hearted, and joyful. And yes, even a little foolish. "To every thing, there is a season" - a time to be serious and "grown up," and a time to put on children's goggles and make a goofy face.

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