A letter to the 4-year-old Creator

Dear Little One,

You create beauty. The amount of imagination inside you already is mind-blowing. Your relentless drive to bring into existence what has never been thought of is earth-shattering. And the way you simply cannot hold in stories is worthy of the utmost esteem.

Fear has no grip on you. Thoughts that have never been thought by anyone else come into your mind and you don’t hesitate for a single second in getting those ideas down, whether you’re writing the few words you know and scribbling the rest, or coloring on the back of printer paper for hours.

Your desire to collaborate comes naturally?—?something that most people have to learn when they’re much older than you. If you can’t write something, you explain it as best you can and let someone with just the right skills help you. Together, you can expand your storytelling to lengths you never knew existed.

You are so special, Little One, with your courage to let so many unrestricted ideas come into your mind. You see beauty in everything around you, from the underside of a leaf to a plane in the sky to your shadow on the sidewalk.

This is a rare gift. Almost everyone starts their life with this sort of wonder, but they lose it over time.

You, however?—?you are something different. This sense of awe you bear is exceptionally powerful. You will do great things in the world with this simple love of things as they are.

There will be many people who don’t understand you because of your creative mind. The way you speak, and walk, and talk, and everything you do exudes your imagination and your daring to dream. You will begin to meet these people when you’re still young. Little One, these people are also precious but do not let them convince you that your open mind and artistry is weird, or that you won’t fit in with them. You are perfect just as you are. The world needs more creators like you.

Keep these words close, so you can fall back on them when your creativity escapes you, or when those others say you aren’t the same (like it’s a bad thing). You must be your wonderful, complete, storytelling self throughout your life.

Your craft is an extra-golden gift to all who meet you. It may take them a while to realize it, but they will know one day.

Always create. Draw, paint, finger paint, foot paint. Make dandelion necklaces. Make pictures in the earth with your hands. Scribble the stories, speak them, write them, shout them. Move your body and dance. Create new foods that explain how you feel. Grow your garden just as you will have it. Respect others, but never apologize for your creativity.

You are a true gem.

Love,

an Admirer.