Play Time
Wishing upon what could’ve been, I ask my new age self, why so serious? A transit into my inner child there I will find the answer amongst all this chaos. I had it all along…
NEVER GROW UP!
They say when you grow up, reality hits and your vision will never be the same. I remember so vividly as a kid listening to this statement and refusing the outcome, as the ridiculously stubborn Tess I am, this never came to be an issue. I won. Adulting was simply a passing thought that not once weighed on my shoulders.
It has taken me twenty five years of existing to finally wrap my head around what they were all harping on about. You see, it’s not reality, nor is it expectation, money, relationships…. LOVE! Non of they above are applicable.
IT’S MINDSET.
In this day and age it takes every last drop of willpower to stay young. Social media shoving pills of perfectionism down our throats, forever changing government tax rates, the recession…. the list is engulfing. Yet why do I stand here as a lonesome soldier amidst the oncoming world war 3 attempting to claim that ‘playing’ is SO important?
YOUR CHILDLIKE NATURE IS YOUR DIRECT PATH TO EXPLORATION
In recent years I started to believe that being childish was embarrassing. As if it represented a lack of direction or a reaction to responsibility. I’ve always admired responsibility but somewhere along the line I got it mixed up with adulting. Yet I’m quickly learning that you can still have fun and play in the mud whilst balancing responsibilities that push your life forward. You don’t have to abandon all of the fun and thrilling parts of yourself that you love so dearly, just because you now have young ones to take care of or a mortgage to pay. You absolutely CAN do both! So why is there this pressure and misconception that at a certain age you have to ‘grow up’?
My partner once said to me “I’m procrastinating on committing to the things I want the most, simply because I’m afraid it means I’ll loose myself”. I told him that I understand, yet proceeded to remind him that his resistance to the life he’s afraid to step up to, only pushes him to rebel and do things that truly are ‘childish’ as a running away mechanism. At some point you have to step up, yes. At some point your responsibilities will grow and as scary it may be, no matter the age… It’s happening perfectly in order, the way our universe decided it should for you, so you have nothing to be afraid of because you are in fact ready. The key here is to remember that nobody is telling you to let go of fun, or become anyone different to who you once were at your most joyous and youthful pivots in life. In fact, your youthful nature will likely help you succeed further in your responsibilities. Why you ask? Think of it this way… When your children are trying to learn about the world, they see things very differently, so how do you expect yourself to relate to them and understand that what they’re learning right now, they are in fact learning for the VERY FIRST TIME? You were once there, but if you expect yourself to be such an adult how will you ever relate or relive those lessons with them? You simply won’t, instead you will get frustrated at their lack of knowledge and become impatient with the process of their individual growth. Another example could be in your life’s exploration… When we put a heavy load of responsibilities on our shoulders, we naturally get caught up in the mayhem of completing these tasks, forcing us to feel trapped in our routine and forgetting that we NEED to explore in order to feel fulfilment in our journey. Which leads me back to my original statement ‘YOUR CHILDLIKE NATURE IS YOUR DIRECT PATH TO EXPLORATION’, matter of fact.
When you were a kid, you didn’t think about the consequences nor were you phased about the assumptions people made about your character. It didn’t bother you! You were too naive and intoxicated by the simple beauty experienced through your wee eyeballs that it seemed impossible for any harm to come your way! We develop fear, boundaries, ego and foolishness with age… the same way we develop knowledge, identity, he-insight and wisdom. So my point here is actually super straight forward! Allow yourself the freedom to be a kid again, allow yourself the time to explore, allow yourself to try new things without worrying about being ‘bad’ at them. Because the construct of your behaviour is built off your fear of embarrassing yourself, yet why does that even matter? It’s only fuelling your ego and hey, who the hell wants to fuel that bad boy!? As Jordan Peterson once said “If you’re not willing to be a fool, how will you become a master?”
Remember that you have more to learn, it’s a forever journey that never ever stops. Therefore your ability to let go a little and be at one with your natural playfulness, will help you explore and succeed and thrive to higher hills than you could ever imagine. Never grow up… Adapt, yes. Learn, yes! But don’t loose your childlike nature, as it’s the very thing that will help you grow!