Girl on Tricycle: Living Large

A few days ago I saw a little girl riding what appeared to be her first tricycle. She was out in front of her parents by a few feet, grinning and focused intently on the handlebars and the pavement that receded beneath the front wheel as she rolled forward. Nowhere on the planet is any person having a better time than this girl is, I thought. Plenty of people are having just as good of a time, but not better.

As adults we capture the thrill of speed and movement through activities such as skiing or mountain biking. Some experience vehicular thrills throughout life, driving fast, high-end cars. Objectively, the thrill of driving a NASCAR vehicle at nearly 200 MPH in heavy traffic is greater and more intense than that of being on a kid's three-wheeler. Yet, subjectively, I doubt that the NASCAR driver is more happily engaged with life than little kids are when they make the stupendous transition from walking to rolling.