Is there an age limit to finding joy in the things you once did? Is there an unwritten rule that when you turn say 25 you are no longer allowed certain activities? Is it mandatory to lose part of yourself as you age?
I have been spending some time recently in the SteemSpeak discord channel listening to people talk about Crypto, philosophy, and really anything you can think of. Wide variety of topics in here. There is a gentleman that is in the channel quite often that I like to think of as a deep thinker. He talks about topics having to do with philosophy and things in that category (what are your moral values? what are your principles?), truly fascinating to listen to.
Today I had a thought; I have never heard this guy talk about what he does for fun. This led me to my next thought which was a memory from a few weeks ago.
I brought my family on a short road trip to my grandmother’s house. She has lived in the same house my whole life, so I have a lot of memories on that land. There are two trees in her yard that my brother and I would spend hours in when we were younger. While hangout outside I noticed one of these trees and decided I wanted to climb it like I used to. Now I don’t know how many of you have experienced what happens next, but it seems like it would be pretty common.
Why do you want to climb the tree? You’re too old for things like that.
That’s very immature of you.
You’re going to hurt yourself.
I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but today It came back and I thought more about it.
Are any responsibilities being neglected by climbing the tree?.... No
Does it harm anyone in any way?.... No
What if I need to climb the tree? Need to see if I still find joy from the climb like I used to. Need to see if I am amazed, like I was so many times in the past, by how different everything looks up there. Need to see if I still get that feeling/need in my stomach to see how high I can go. Need to see if I still have that amazing capability of finding joy in the simplest things in life.
It really bothers me when the word “immature” is tied to situations like this. In my mind that word should be used to describe someone that makes poor choices regarding his responsibilities. Not someone that is seeking simple joys in life. To me, the strongest people are those that can find joy and happiness in the smallest things. Those that can separate work from play. Do what you need to do to cover your responsibilities, and then channel your inner kid until responsibility comes knocking. If you need all the finer things in life to make you happy then you are doing something wrong, and you will never have enough.
I usually don’t but this time I am going to ask you all to do me a favor. Next time you are walking through some woods, see how many “perfect climbing trees” you can spot. Maybe climb a few. If you happen to see a stream, spend some time skipping stones across the surface. See how many times you can make the stone jump before it plunges below. Next time you fart, don’t hold back that chuckle we all know is there. Let it out, but don’t forget to call “safety”. Ultimately, don’t pass on opportunities to find joy in the simple things we did as we were children.
p.s. I did climb that tree, and it was AWESOME!! My inner kid is still strong and kicking, and I can’t wait to formally introduce him to my son.
