Remedial Childhood for Adults

Remember when you could do anything.

Ask any young child:  Can you paint? YES  Can you sing:  YES  Can you dance:  YES

A child thinks you’re totally stupid to ever ask such obvious questions.

Ask any adult these same questions, and either you get all NO’s, or some form of a humble statement about how they’re “can do it but aren’t very good at it.”

What happened?

As we get older,  Competition replaces “fun.”  Life becomes a race where, if you see yourself coming anywhere but in first place or close to first, you just drop out of the race.   To save your ego, you try to act like you never really meant to run, anyway.  You completely forget the fun you had creating and performing.

A child doesn’t take their turn at the painting easel in kindergarten and worry “what will the critics think of my work” when they finish.  They love the way their spirit is lifted when they dance and sing.  They love the joy of throwing color around on paper.   They use their art to take them places.   They’ll paint a few blobs, and tell you a story about how it’s a painting of their family and friends on a really cool roller coaster this summer.  Art can bring out your imagination, which is a better toy that anything you can buy.  A toy that cost nothing, and can be anything you want it to be.

Creativity is one of the greatest gifts given to us on this Earth, and most adults squander it.  They think that if it doesn’t make you money and/or bring you fame, it should be thrown away as a worthless waste of time.

Try to remember how much fun you had being creative as a child.  How the power of creation could take you to another place, like a delicious form of deep meditation.   It is not important to be the best.  It is not important to use it to gain wealth or fame.  It’s to feed your spirit.  It’s to have FUN.  You can have that again if you try.

It is written:

Sing like no one is listening.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
Dance like nobody’s watching,
and live like it’s heaven on earth.

Anonymous

 

 

 

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