I was sitting at Lakewood Park over the weekend for a sunset. I was sitting with my sister and she pulled out a coloring book. We started to color. Next to me was a family with a young 3 year old daughter. She was in a playful mood and was doing cartwheels. She then proceeded to lay on the ground in a “mummy” position and roll down the hill. Something in me really made me smile. My inner kid inside of me was telling me, “you’ve gotta do this.” I could feel the pull. I looked over at her parents, and I said, “I’ve just gotta do this. something in my feels like my inner kid is alive.” I proceed to roll down the hill. Laughing. The younger kid also was amazed that she saw an adult repeat what she had done moments earlier.
The older we get, its natural instinct to work by wisdom and when we mature, its even easier to get “more serious” without even realizing its happening. More responsibilities. More days that are programmed with routine and a standard operating procedure. This natural can cut off our “child like” outlook on the world. When we were children, we were curious, we didn’t take things too serious, we laughed lots, smiled lots, and had this innocence and posture that looked at the world with amazement. we didn’t care what people thought about us. we didn’t pause before reacting. We were less harmed and experienced less trauma at that time.
As we go about our lives, we experience lots that makes us pause. Maybe its the frontal lobe of our brain that allows us to see big picture and also a combination of experiences. we’re more likely to pause and to think about potential outcomes.
While this is good, it can also be a bit damaging when we’re too much in our own heads and over analyzing situations. taking the fun out of a situation. Thinking “what if” or “will this person think im weird?” Or “what will someone say”. etc. its a natural protective measure internally to question and judge ourselves.
The point we need to check ourselves on is: how often are we doing this and what is it preventing me from experiencing?
Take the situation with me rolling down the hill. it was a tiny hill. low danger of course since a 3 year old could successful do it. were lots of people around? yes. Could they’ve been having side conversation about me after seeing a grown adult rolling down the hill? yes. But at the end of the day, i knew i enjoyed it, it didn’t harm anyone else around me, and that’s all that really matters. 3
Prior to the coloring, we were skateboarding around. Something i used to do as a kid. it was spontaneous. didn’t always have a set plan. However, it put me in a flow state when i was able to go out and do tricks, cruise around, and just stay present with the feeling of the board on my feet, the noise of the wheels cursing on the ground, the ramps that i was approaching and going up and down on.
Lots of the time, we can think about activities, sports, hobbies or whatever it is that we did when we were a kid, and these activities put us very much so into the present. time would FLY BY. we had such attention toward the moment. the smell. the taste. the visuals. the sounds. we don’t forget them.
We reenforce this present moment state by doing things like this. Things we just know we enjoy to do without having to prove that to anyone. Just something that makes you happy.
For me it was skateboarding as a kid. really it was a huge part of my life. sports, skateboarding, adventures and hikes, going into the water. All things that i still continue to do today. I don’t even need to think twice about it. i just know they make me happy. i feel free during these activities. low stress.
what are these activities for you?
There’s a reason that a long term friend from childhood will make you smile and feel more kid like when you’re around each other. The buddy who “you just laugh so hard with for no reason.” People or things you do that make you feel “more kid like.” this is a really good thing in my opinion.
It activates a different part of you. a part that is extremly positive. it reminds you to not sweat the small things in life. it helps you let go and flow in this state of joy.
Take yourself back to a time where innocence, curiosity, and that “first time look” at life mentality was present. We access it and keep that alive in us by continuing to embrace what we loved during those stages.
We need adventure. we need to stay curious in our own ways. we need to have drive and work at things. personal projects. in relationships and with hobbies. we need to go to new environments. we need to experiment with new foods. we need to take action and get off of these devices and try things a bit more. get our hands on things. feet on the ground.
If you don’t know where to start, or are thinking, “when i was a kid, it was really pretty rough.” there had to be something… and if you still aren’t sure, don’t worry. you’re in the best place possible, because RIGHT NOW is the time to explore. trying something new. give it a roll. it might spark a little anxiety. that is okay. its unfamiliar. but we don’t know unless we try. we can’t figure out what we love or what we want to do unless we commit to something for at least a short time frame.
conducting little experiments. trying something out for a few weeks. giving it enough attention to see if it sparks that curiosity and excitement within you. the feeling like you know you want to dive deeper and keep working toward learning more. if its not one thing, then proceed on to the next.
here are some great ideas from when i was a kid that continue to stay alive today:
skateboard, baseball, hiking, jumping off cliffs into the water, swimming, playing tennis, throwing the football, coloring, reading, planting flowers, going for a walk, seeing live music, going to water parks, bike riding.
the list goes on.
I loved these things when i was a kid and coincidentally they bring me lots of joy to this day when im turning 31 years old.
Hope this helps. stay curious. take action. keep things kid like. have fun.
THE_HUMAN_EXPERIMENT1993 