I reflected on the concept of returning in last week's blog post, and I think it's worth it to take things a step further: returning to things that tend to our inner child.
Children receive (or at least are supposed to receive) a certain level of care that we do not tend to extend to adults. We give kids time, attention, and grace that we would not give to our peers, or even ourselves. I challenge you to change that. Kids are just as human as adults are. They just so happen to be tiny humans who are learning and growing in a world that is changing around them. And as adults, we are learning and growing in that same world, now in charge of surviving in it on our own. With that said, don't you think adults, we, ourselves, deserve consideration and care as well?
As kids, we explored an array of activities in a variety of environments, and this allowed us to discover what we liked and what we were good at. It didn't matter that it was a simple basketball game or creating art with our hands or making jewelry out of beads and twine—it made us happy. And then we grew up, and we stopped doing those activities that we liked to do. But who's to say we can't go back to some of those things?
What used to excite you as a kid? What interested you? What sparked your creativity? Return to that! Who's to say you won't feel that same way again?
It doesn't have to be big; it can literally be as small as collecting rocks. That's exactly what it was for me.
When I was a kid, I'd collect rocks from our yard and keep them as pets (this was before we were allowed to have a dog). I found something soothing about taking each rock in my hands and feeling its smoothness or roughness, and I was fascinated by the makeup of the crystals and stones I'd find. Looking back, I realized that even as a kid, I was subconsciously doing things that helped ground me to the earth, and I was always searching for some way to feel stable and present.
Now, as an adult who often struggles to ground myself and feel present in a world that is so scary and uncertain, I have returned to my childhood practice of "collecting rocks". But instead of taking rocks from the yard, I have crystals of all kinds and smooth stones that I stack on top of each other. Having my own crystals and rocks brings me back to that feeling I had when I was a kid—admiring pretty rocks and stones for what they were, grasping each of them, and (unknowingly at the time) grounding myself to the earth. It's something small, but it's fulfilling.
Adults are just kids who grew up one day. We still need the things that we needed as children: love, understanding, and connection. Meet that need for yourself, whatever it may be. Hear out the child in you; you might (re)discover more than you realize.
Comments