“Great is the human who has not lost his childlike heart.” -Mencius
Do you ever wonder where the simplicity and joy of your childhood went?
In the growing up process, we have replaced the innate wisdom of who we are with fears and doubts. As children there was no doubt that we were great–even invincible. We were inquisitive, adventurous and fearless. Laughter and tears came and went. We didn’t care if we had tears in our pants or dirt on our shirts because we were on a mission to experience as much of life as we could.
Little by little the “don’t, can’t, mustn’t, shouldn’t” eroded our fearlessness and began to create limitations in our world. Slowly these walls began to silence our innate wisdom.
The great news is that you don’t have to stay trapped in these walls. You can rediscover the wisdom you brought into the world and let it play a greater part in your life again. When you do, life will become happier, more creative, and more productive.
Let life become fun again!
You are perfect.
You were born perfect and still are perfect. Somewhere along the way you were told that you were not good enough, or were made to feel you were not complete–but you are. You think that something is wrong with you that needs to be fixed, but there is nothing to fix.
What you haven’t been told is that you have to accept and love all of you exactly as you are. The warts and the dimples! In doing this you find the perfection that you are.
You are born to greatness.
In the same way that you were born perfect, you were born to greatness. As a child you knew that you were great. You did not know you had limits until someone told you, and even then you challenged those limits. Eventually it became easier to live within the limits. The greatness was stifled within you.
You can reawaken your greatness by replacing your doubts with the belief you can do anything that you set your mind to.
You know the answers.
You have an innate intelligence within you that knows what is best for you and what you should do at any time. Remember that uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right and later you discovered your feelings were correct? Or the time you just knew you should do something and did. When you saw the success, you chalked it up to a gut feeling.
As a child you trusted in those feelings, but over time the trust faded as your over active mind took over. It is time to trust that gut feeling–your intuition–again. This is the wisdom you came here with.
Life is an adventure.
As a child you were not afraid to try anything. At the merest suggestion you were off to explore, climb, probe, poke or taste most things. If you were like me, you didn’t hesitate before trying something. If you fell or got hurt you didn’t do it again, but it didn’t stop you from the next experience. Life was an adventure to be explored.
This sense of adventure was killed in you when the adults around you repeated, “No, don’t do that! Be careful!” Bring that sense of adventure into your life again. Don’t be afraid to try things, to experience new things, and to explore.
Be honest in all things.
Children are so honest. They tell it like they see it. They say whatever is on their mind. They don’t guard their words, look for reactions, or have expectations. It is all spontaneous.
When was the last time you said something honestly, without first weighing your words? You can speak with childlike honesty without being cruel or mean. If you start being totally honest with yourself, it becomes easier to be honest with others. At first this will not be easy, but with time you will see the vast benefits.
Be fully in the moment.
Children can be totally engrossed in something to the extent that they are not aware of anything around them. At moments like this, when they are asked to do something else they can get very upset.
For them, only this time and place are relevant. The instant they are no longer engrossed in what they are doing, they easily move on to the next thing. There is fluidity of movement and complete awareness of the moment.
You can recapture this by being mindful of what you are doing at any given time. If you are engrossed in it, keep doing it. If your attention fades it is time to move on. Mindful people tend to be very productive.
We are all equal.
Watch children play. They don’t discriminate against the opposite sex, physical appearance or age. They come together and before long they are playing like long lost buddies. They trust first and welcome all.
Look at others with the eye of a child and see that everyone is the same under the skin.
It is okay to show emotion.
Children cry, scream, laugh, dance, hop or pound their fists with abandon. They can be raging with anger one moment, and the next be laughing and playing. They move through emotions as they feel them. They don’t hold a grudge, resentment or agonize over what they are feeling. They let it out.
Adults have been taught to hold back emotions or stuff them down. It is time to be honest about how we are feeling. That doesn’t mean you have to lash out at someone, but you can let them know how you are feeling. Open up a dialogue around those feelings and everyone wins.
By rediscovering the wisdom you came into this life with, your world can be more creative, more productive and happier.
Are you ready to reclaim your natural wisdom?
Featured photo credit: Curious/CaseyPicker via flickr.com
