One of my favorite movies was on TV tonight — I stop and watch it every time it’s on. It was on a lot late last summer, and I know I’ve written about it before. That movie is Under the Tuscan Sun.

The first time I saw it, I was on a plane. I didn’t like it.

The second time, it was one of the only things on TV so I sat through it. And I fell in love. Since then, I’ve watched it countless times.

There are so many lines in that movie that I seem to not notice until something in my life makes them relevant for me. And I found a new one tonight.

“No matter what happens, always keep your childish innocence. It’s the most important thing.”

It’s so easy to let those things that we admire about children get lost as we get older. Their ability to imagine, to make believe, to pretend.

To be carefree, to giggle uncontrollably, to see new things with eyes that light up the way they might have when running to the tree on Christmas morning to see what Santa might have left.

To be curious.

To wonder.

To dream.

To hope.

The most important thing? I would tend to agree.

We let real life drown out the innocence sometimes. And while it’s good to be a responsible adult, how often are we being responsible and not forgetting the child within?

Want to learn something new? Kids do it all the time. They think they can, and they can. So they do. Adults do it, too, but less often. You know, because of that whole “real life” thing.

In the process of doing something but feeling held back? Do what kids do: keep going. They don’t listen to the voices in their heads telling them they might not succeed, because they can’t hear them yet. Not enough years have passed to where the self-doubt has taken hold and built up. They haven’t had their innocence taken away. They just know it’s possible and, again, they do.

One foot in front of the other.

Tonight I am thankful for my movie being on, for having the time to watch it and for gleaning yet another bit of advice when it’s most relevant to my life.