The freedom of childhood
Children are amazing. The majority of us look back on childhood days with fond memories of innocence, playtime and a sense of adventure. The possibilities were endless and your neighbourhood was your own little Cosmos. You played with friends, got up to mischief, fell down, got up, grazed knees, ruined shoes and it was mostly down with a carefree smile and a cheeky grin.
If only we could bottle that magic - no worries in the world except the here and now, the present moment. Well in some ways we can bottle that magic. Each of us can be more present and not project forward on what could happen or think back on what we might do differently if given the chance to do it again. Instead just accept who you are, where you are and what you can do and what you cannot. We each have immense potential and many us only ever reach a small percentage of this potential. I would argue that the reason in many instances is our mind saying things like:
"You won't be able for that"
"Who are you fooling"
"You're not good enough"
"It is just too hard"
You are not your thoughts
It is very easy to listen to these thoughts and even become them in a way. A better approach is to just allow the thoughts to come almost like bubbles above your head and challenge them and say no, I am good enough, I can do this, whatever it is. Soon you may find less of the negative thoughts creeping in. Children don't tend to have this problem and everything is possible through their young eyes. The thing is they are right. In the vast majority of cases, most things are possible if we are patient, realistic and determined. We should all embrace our inner child more.
The following series of photos are my own 3 children playing joyfully in the sun chasing bubbles around a field. Simple joy unbounded and unapologetic. All that was needed was a pack of bubbles, some sunshine and carefree attitudes.
Allow yourself time to play
Try to learn something from the little ones and allow yourself some time to play, whatever thst means to you. No rules. No time constraints. Just allow yourself to express yourself through drawing a picture, doing some colouring in, digging a hole at the beach. Anything at all that you would consider as play and might almost feel a bit silly about doing. I'd be willing to wager that you will feel better afterwards.
Image source: www.wikipedia.com
This is not just my idea. The reknowned Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who founded analytical psychology had this to say:
The dynamic principle is play, a characteristic also of the child, and as such it appears inconsistent with the principle of serious work. But without this playing no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable. It must not be forgotten that it is just in the imagination that a man’s highest value may lie.
So I say allow yourself some me time and reconnect with the innocence of youth.
All photos accept the one of Carl Jung are my own taken with a Samsung A40 smartphone and are unedited raw original images