Remember the days before adulthood? Before the materialistic quests, rigorous career advancements, parenthood, and myriads of challenges?
Remember the days when everything was magical and mysterious?
Remember when you were in awe of the rainbow and giggled while jumping into puddles?
Remember licking a giant ice-cream and ending up with half of it on your face and clothes?
Remember running and jumping on the beach, your toes being tickled by the sand?
Remember the warm sunshine on your face?
You lived to enjoy yourself immersed into little wonders.
As we are ‘forced’ to grow up, we feel that we are given an ultimatum – You can be either a serious adult “When are you going to grow up and act like an adult, Jane?” or …..
Well, there is nothing more.
As grown-ups we are expected to shed the childlike sense of wonder and start to behave. Behave as what?
Childhood is an enchanting place where all is bright, new, surprising and exciting!
Who wouldn’t want to recapture that essence of who we are? Curious, playful, adventurous – doesn’t that sound exhilarating?
When I let my inner child come out and play, I’m labeled as immature, childish, foolish, naive or irresponsible.
I learn a lot from my kiddos. They are naturally mindful. They live in a world where anything is possible and each and every moment is a potential adventure waiting to unfold.
According to psycho-educator and mindfulness practitioner Fiona Gauntlett, all children are born with the gift of being able to live fully in the present, they are mindful and vital: “They have a natural engagement with the vitality of the moment; they’re receptive and fully absorbed in their life experiences,” she says.
I rather be called childish or immature, than “act like an adult”.
Regaining that sense of wonder is not about returning to an oblivious, dependent state. It is about applying the childlike joy concepts to your adult life.
Let yourself be awed by the little things in your grown up life. Keep the faith, be curious and excited. See the wonders all around you.
Just because things happen everyday does not mean they are any less miraculous.
Don’t allow yourself to be numb to the world and it’s wonders. Dance in the rain once in a while, break the rules — just a bit!
And don’t allow the world to hijack your vitality and your dreams.
I know YOU CAN! Do you?