“To play, to be amused, to enjoy the moment without judgments is to have access to the child within.” ~ Robert Fulghum, Words I Wish I Wrote
I have had quite a few chances to be around grandchildren this last month. I’m reminded how children can teach us incredible lessons about enjoying life. They are constantly joking and laughing and experimenting. They want to have chocolate before lunch… or maybe before breakfast. They love creating things, and taking things apart.
Children are unbelievably honest, but they always try to spare your feelings. No matter how many mistakes your make, they don’t make you feel like a totally incompetent, sludge of a person. They don’t berate you if you spill something, (probably because in their short lives they realize they have knocked over a few things on their own!)
Be Liberated!
The words above in Fulghum’s book were referring to Eric Bernes, the father of Transactional Analysis. He insisted that a “playful attitude is essential for creativity, the functioning of imagination, the appreciation of beauty, the perception of art and music and poetry, and the expression of sheer joy.”
Wherever your day may take you, try to spend time with or watch children, and see how they react to life. They are much more bold and carefree than we are, and they laugh a lot. A lot! If they are upset about something, you know about it … they cry or stick out their tongue. But then they get over it and move right on to the next adventure.
Let’s try just today to see life with the simplicity and the full-throttle joy of a child. Discover something new. Experiment. If you screw up, get over it. Quit worrying so much and just get completely involved in the moment. It is an incredibly liberating and fun and invigorating way to live!
“Mark this: Unless you accept God’s Kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” ~ Mark 10:15 (The Message)
