inner child (Photo credit: Dave_B_)
Look around you today, what do you see? Or even better yet, how do you see? Do you see with the eyes of someone who has been beaten down by the world and given up on their dreams? Or do you see with the eyes of your inner child whose imagination allows for unlimited possibility and magical beliefs in an awakened state? Ahhh, to see life through the eyes of a child, your inner child to be precise. To give yourself the gift of setting aside what you believe is expected of you and allowing who you are to be expressed in all respects, what a gift that could be!! Joy, laughter, elation, euphoria, exuberance, pleasure or cheerfulness. These feelings are all that you might have the opportunity to experience again if you allow your inner child to take hold of the reigns of your present moment. To surrender your need to control others around you and start making choices that revitalize you to step into the great dreamer role that you are meant to embody- Wonderful!!! We all seem to worry about time passing and losing our youth and vigor. We focus on how tired we are as we plod through the routine of our existence. We lose hope that change is possible for us or perhaps our ship has sailed. But with a small shift, we can return to a time where magic and flights of fancy are common place. We can return to a now where anything is possible. We can return to experience a creative and powerful moment in time. And what a delight for all the senses, what a rejuvenating experience this would be. As if we spend out entire lives looking for the fountain of youth, only to discover that it has been within us all along. I have met many people, both young and old in terms of their years, those who have made the conscious decision to look at life through the eyes of a child, wanting to learn, grow, and blossom have always retained their youth despite their years. As the poet James Broughton reminds us, “Despite what I might hear to the contrary the world is not a miserable prison, it was a playground for nonstop tournament between stupidity and imagination. If followed the game sharply enough, I could be a useful spokesman for Big Joy.” So if it is Big Joy that you seek, join the tournament and get into the game. Remember that age should never limit our potential to continue as seekers and follow our heart in the direction it leads. For it is a truth that our inner child is still ageless, sometimes we need to let that inner child out of our self-imposed prison so we can benefit from the beauty that has been there all along. Do not let age stop you in following your passion in life, start looking around you with the bright eyes of a child and see all the opportunity that is there for us all. Start to enjoy the playground of life. For I believe that this is the only way to satisfy the goal in life where at the end we all can exclaim loudly, “Wow what a ride!”