My 3 year old loves to read. She could spend hours flipping through the pages of her colorful storybooks, narrating the tales she’s memorized from hearing them so often. Page by page, her face lights up with delight as she travels through the whimsical worlds of cowboys and kittens and cowboy kittens.
One of her current favorites is Harold and the Purple Crayon. In case you don’t have a toddler begging you to read this every morning, the story is about a young boy who creates a world around him by drawing it with a purple crayon. The tale begins, “One evening, after thinking it over for some time, Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight.” And so he does. He embarks on an exciting but calculated adventure that he creates using his crayon, drawing the landscapes and scenery before him and creating solutions to the problems he faces. When he gets hungry, he creates a meal of his favorite pies. When he finds himself in rising waters, he draws a boat in which to climb. When has cannot see which way to go, he sketches and climbs a tall mountain, and when he stumbles off that mountain he creates a hot air balloon to help him drift to safety. It is a tale of discovery, imagination, and wit that leaves my daughter feeling like anything is possible.
We all wield a purple crayon.
While Harold and the Purple Crayon may be a well-loved children’s story, the message within resonates with all ages: we all have the power to create our story.
Much like Harold, we all wield a purple crayon of imagination, innovation, and fortitude. We are the authors of a mighty adventure, capable of dictating where life takes us. There are no such things as limitations other than those which we place upon ourselves. We can climb the highest mountains, surround ourselves with things that bring us joy, and when we stumble and fall we are able to build our own safety net.
With ingenuity and determination, our wildest dreams can become reality. So go. Take a walk in the moonlight. Grab your crayon and create your story. Dream big. Speak your truth. Don’t be held back by the scenery around you, but thrive amidst adversity. Your life circumstances are not a life sentence. You have the power to break free, create the mountain you wish to climb, and if you stumble along the way you can find a way to safely land.
The pages before you are blank. What will you fill them with?