|
Today's
Meditation:
When we were kids, we couldn't wait to be big.
We couldn't wait to be able to do things that we wanted to
do, when we wanted to do them, with no one to tell us we
couldn't. There were so many great things that we
thought that being grown-up would entail, and we dutifully
went about learning what we needed to learn and doing the
things we needed to do to "grow up," never
realizing while we were in the process that we were
leaving behind extremely important parts of who we were.
There are, obviously, many wonderful parts about growing
up. Life is full of many more possibilities when
we're making our own money and our own decisions. We
have many more freedoms when we reach certain ages and
we're not prohibited from doing many of the things we
simply couldn't do as a kid, like decide to take a long
drive on a beautiful afternoon and stop somewhere nice for
dinner, just because we feel like it.
But as we pursue these freedoms, much of what was valuable
in our childhood is left behind, cast away with the
limitations that we choose to leave behind. There is
much in childhood that should be left behind-- the temper
tantrums, the rules and regulations, the pettiness, the
crying in order to get what we want. . . all a part of
being a child, but not things that we really want to have
as a part of our lives for good. On the other hand,
as kids we trust life, we feel awe and wonder for the
amazing things we see and feel, we share our feelings and
emotions, we're willing to allow others to help us, we're
willing to dance and sing whenever we feel like it without
worrying about what other people think about us. We
allow our innocence to be an important part of who we are,
and we act from that innocence.
As an adult, I do try to reconnect with many aspects of
childhood. I want to be able to have fun without
worrying about what other people think about what I'm
doing. I want to look at other human beings with
interest and without judgment. I want to be able to
be enchanted and amazed, and I want to be honest with my
words and with my feelings. And I especially want to
be in touch with the innocence that could be such an
important part of my life and allow me to feel all the
other positive aspects of life as it was when I was a
child.
|
