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Answers From Your Inner Child

Insight From A Young Elder

By Hope MartinPublished 7 years ago 3 min read
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Think back to a place in time...

You're five years old, and you're looking at the sky in amazement.

"Why is the sky blue?" We've ALL asked that question as a child – I'm pretty sure. For some of us the answer was: "Because God made it that way," or "Because that's the colour the universe made it.," or maybe it was: "because that's the sky fairies favourite color today;" or "I don't know! Ask your teacher!" But none of it mattered really to you... the big simple picture was this sole fact: The sky was blue. And it was big. And it was...AMAZING!

Everything was so simple. We would get sad if our stuffed animal got hurt, or our favourite toy got lost. But it was fleeting. And it would pass with swift progress. We'd find joy in the simplest things. A butterfly fluttered past, or a bird squawked peculiarly. Maybe a caterpillar crossed along your big toe. Even a new hat for the favourite bear, or simply jumping onto that loved ones lap with your favourite blankie. We were joyous. Full of life.

Our dreams were bigger than the world back then too. Our imaginations would run rampant. Our favourite underwear and blanket made us a super hero. A silly old Halloween mask made us an invincible ninja that had magical powers. We were princesses and princes, heroes, and villains. Some of us were cats or dogs, lions and bears. Our bicycles were horses, and our lunch boxes were treasure chests. We went on the most amazing quests and adventures - in the comfort and safety of our backyard, rooms, and imaginations.

Everything was stupidly, blissfully, wonderfully...simplistic.

And then we grew up. We grew painfully aware of what stress is and all the factors around it. Fear. Betrayal. Heartbreak. Loneliness. We learn what vanity is – and the price of that knowledge is our self-esteem. We begin to understand racism and why - and many people develop of sense of racism and judgmental mindsets of their own. We become aware of the people around us - attraction, lust, longing, love. We grow selfish and self-absorbed in ourselves and our lives.

Most of us lost that wonder and magic we found in our imagination. The bird that calls out in the trees no longer deliver us urgent messages and cries for help from nearby villages under siege from barbarians. Our favourite blankie stops becoming our cape that gives us super powers. Our minds turn into a prison cell instead of a wonderful land of adventure.

And things are no longer simplistic. Life over whelms us. We at times feel so small and hopeless and helpless. There are situations in which are so complicated for you - you have no idea what to do. The same thoughts circle around and around inside your head, driving you to madness and infuriation with yourself.

So what do you do in situations like that? Where the answer eludes you - or you have an answer but its just so: "Complicated." Well.. while not everyone had a great childhood, we were all at once upon a time...a child.

Everything at that age is straight forward. Black and white. And of course sassy attitude of "DUH!" (those of you with five to six-year-old girls will understand that - ha ha). But...we no longer have that mind frame. So we have a hard time seeing past all the bullshit that makes it..."complicated."

So... ask your inner child. Buried somewhere deep, hibernating until we reach the ripe age of senility is your inner child. Put on an old childhood favourite movie. Pull out your favourite childhood noms (snacks). Meditate. Recall the first time you saw a lit candle with a flickering flame – and you wondered how the fire was dancing, and why? The first time fireworks didn't scare you but instead entranced you – and you realized how beautiful and mysterious they were. Remember your imaginary friends, and think about how you felt the day you watched that caterpillar move, trying to ingrain the motions of its body in your memory forever.

Your inner child will have a simple answer. And it will be the right one – no matter how simple it is despite the complications of the situation. Then buck up – and face it. Because even the smallest and most innocent of faces have an acute sense of wisdom. And even though we are no longer that innocent child we once were we can still go back and find that peace and solace – just long enough to clear our minds and find that stupidly, blissful, wonderfully simplistic solution.

how tohumanity
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About the Creator

Hope Martin

I am a published author of a book called Memoirs of the In-Between. I am doing a rewrite of it, as it needed some polishing. I am a mom, a cook, a homesteader, and a second-generation shaman.

Find me on Medium also!

@kaseyhopemartin

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