Sunday, December 14, 2014

A Child at Heart

Kids are silly.  They like to be silly.  I like to be silly.  Therefore, I am a kid, right?.  One of the best things about having children is experiencing life again.  You get the opportunity to see things with wonder again.  Because of my children, I was reminded of how I once was.  Little ones don’t want to go to sleep.  There is so much in the world to see, to hold, to take in and they want to do it all right now.  Sleep?  No, sleep can wait.  There are important things they want right now.  They want to go, go, go.  Their little motors run until the tank goes empty.  Then they simply collapse.  Is there anything like watching a baby sleep?  How precious!  When they do sleep, they get to wake when their little bodies say they have had all they need. 

In contrast, the older we get the more we just want to relax.  Life is a treadmill and we just want to jump off.  When can I get a nap?  I just want to get my stuff done so I can go to sleep or relax.  The alarm interrupts our rest and we are jolted back into reality.  Adults have responsibilities.  We have things we have to do in order to maintain the lifestyle we want.  However, it is not all negative.  There are a lot of good things in the adult life too.  I have autonomy.  I can come and go as I please.  I can pursue happiness.  However, in doing so I have to take on the difficulties life has.   

Maybe this is why I want to be childlike.  I don’t believe it is an avoidance thing.  I’m not dodging responsibilities or hard times in life.  In contrast, I want to embrace the wonder that life once held for me.  There is still so much in the world to have and to hold.  There is so much beauty.  There is much to cherish.  Adult life makes it hard to notice any of this.  A child’s life lends itself to taking it all in.  Being a kid at heart gives me the best of both worlds. 

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