Today’s visit to the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris left me with many impressions, but one moment has been echoing in my mind all evening.
The David Hockney exhibition was vibrant, layered, full of light and playfulness. One installation in particular—a multi-screen video piece—was captivating. Each screen showed people dancing, moving, expressing. It was immersive and rhythmical, and as I stood watching, something even more powerful began to unfold.
A young child—maybe four or five years old—began to respond to the piece. A little Chinese girl, twirling and swaying, reacting instinctively to the movement and colors. She didn’t look around to check if it was acceptable. She didn’t pause to consider the audience surrounding her. She simply danced.
Watching her was deeply moving. While the rest of us stood still, quietly absorbing the art, she embodied it. It reminded me of how children have this rare ability to respond with their full being—mind, body, and soul—unfiltered by social expectation or self-consciousness.
It made me reflect: when do we lose this? When do we stop feeling safe to respond to life with our whole selves? What would it be like to meet beauty without hesitation, to move when something stirs us, to react without first checking who’s watching?
Her small body danced in the space between the screens, but it felt like she was dancing inside the artwork itself—blurring the line between observer and participant.
I carry this moment with me now. A little lesson in openness. A reminder to feel more fully, and maybe, when something moves me, to move too.