The Art of Mischief

What does it actually mean to be naughty?

Does “naughty” change its meaning as we grow into adulthood, perhaps after the appearance of grey hairs and wrinkles? Or do we simply become more sophisticated about hiding our mischievous side? Or maybe we are just far too tired after life starts lifing.

And is naughtiness even gender-specific—or have we just spent far too long being told who needs to be “a good girl,” “a proper lady”…

Perhaps being naughty looks a little different once you’re no longer green, but gloriously seasoned, much like autumn leaves ready to fall.

Because getting older doesn’t necessarily make you less rebellious. It just makes you better at being mischievous.

But naughty need not be extreme.

It might be entirely innocent: licking melted chocolate from your fingers, especially when he is watching your mouth. It might be ordering dessert when everyone else is “being good.” Eating hot chips straight from the paper bag on the drive home. Butter melting into warm bread when your doctor put the brakes on your diet.

So eat to your delight, devour, indulge. Make it about your senses, make it about decadence and pleasure.

Naughty could be you in bed… when you want to and with whom. To stay up talking, reading, listening to music, watching old films, or lying entangled like two naked salty pretzels.

Or merely sleeping late while everyone’s at work. Curtains half-open. Morning light spilling across the sheets on thick thighs. Phone pinging and ignored… because your own company is equally delicious.

There is a particular thrill in declaring yourself unavailable when, technically, you are perfectly available.

You could: play hooky on a random Tuesday, disappear, and sit on soft white sand watching the kite surfers vanish into the clouds. Play in ice-cold water till your clothes are soaked and clinging to every curve, and your body feels alive.

Playing hooky feels different when you’re meant to be sensible. When you’re younger, you sneak away from responsibilities because you need a break. Later in life, you discover the delicious truth: You can simply decide to check out and enjoy your own damn self.

For a few hours, you slip out and discover that part of you that has been put on silent for way too long.

So you unlock your playful self, tap into your less sensible being, still 80% angel, but that 20%... oh my.

Not necessarily because you wanted anything to happen, but because you needed to remind yourself that you get to choose.

And there it is: a sparkle in the eye. A wicked smile. Salty skin. Bare shoulders. A perfectly timed giggle. Saying something just cheeky enough to shock someone into seeing this other side of you.

The delicious thing about flirting after forty is that it doesn't have to lead anywhere. It can simply be play. A little electricity. A little confidence boost. A little reminder that you are still capable of turning up the voltage in a room.

What fun!

His fingers, your mouth.

Silk sliding over your shoulders...Bare-back on a bar stool just because.

Bold red lipstick on a Monday morning while making oats.

Naughty is turning the music up far too loud and dancing with abandon in the kitchen.

It is playing your favorite song on repeat, feeling the bass with every beat, and giving yourself over to the rhythm. It’s stirring up old memories, waking up forgotten versions of ourselves, and reminding us that the body wants to sway and pulse; and that’s okay.

Even in the so-called winter years, there are songs that make you want to move.

So move. Dance… badly if necessary, with your dodgy knees and wonky hips.

Ultimately, naughtiness is less about breaking rules and more about remembering that you were never meant to be one-dimensional.

You can be responsible and ridiculous.

Wise and wicked.

Grounded and gloriously impulsive.

You can know better… and occasionally choose not to.

Perhaps growing older isn't about being responsible only. Perhaps it's about becoming comfortable enough with yourself to decide which rules deserve your respect, which deserve questioning, and which deserve a mischievous little wink before you ignore them.

So here's to staying curious. To saying, “Why not?” every now and then.

Because there is still plenty of life left to live.