When we are young, the word "why" is an expression of wonder, an honest and spontaneous yearning to know something about the world. "Daddy? Why are roses red?" We accept the answer as given and move on to the next moment.

When we are older, the word "why" is often an expression of misunderstanding, an attempt to reconcile the frustration we feel when our experience doesn't match our expectation. Why isn't this moment as anticipated and what does that imply about my future?

Fortunately, youth is not just a measurement of passed days, but rather a perspective on life and a manner of expressing ourselves. At any time, we can choose to be young, to ask why like a child and to live in the moment.

When we are in the moment, we have no need to reconcile our experience with the past nor to know what it means in the future. We are free to enjoy life wholly without categorization or decision making. We simply experience. This is the present, the gift of the moment, that often goes unopened when we are not young.