I am thankful for this tweet I saw that I ended up engaging with that made me want to go deeper. Because of that, we have another Wednesday Word on a Wednesday, let us keep believing in miracles or let’s start if you didn’t before.
Here’s the tweet:
I want to challenge you all, to fixate, on something, anything.
Something seemingly innocuous or mundane.
One day, I found myself in a trance watching birds fly over my house. It was so interesting to notice the way their wings spread out, the difference in their wingspan, the way their movement interacted with the wind. Never before had I ever in my life had I engaged in such an experience.
Through the systems of capitalism and the structure of the world we occupy, we miss so much of what is actually happening around us. In the going going going if it all, can you remember what it means to slow down and observe? To be so fascinated by something that you give it your undivided attention?
Observe the way the trees move when the wind rustles their leaves; the sounds that the leaves make, the way the light hits them and how those that are more exposed to the sun can be lighter or bleached; the way they fall naturally in layers and interesting shapes. All of this is around you waiting for you to engage. All of this is magnificence at your doorstep but you are too caught up with man-made constructs to notice.
Here’s the thing, I am not speaking from a place of superiority because I know why and how you get caught up in the web, each day I am unraveling from it.
I simply want you to unravel with me.
There’s another thing that has been sitting with me for some time.
While on one of my walks I remembered that when I was a ‘child’, I loved going for walks. I’d walk all over the neighbourhoods
I lived in, I’d enjoy how pretty outside was, I’d create stories about the people who lived in the houses and it was definitely something I would do to get away from my mother and to have some peace of mind. I was talking to a friend of mine after one of my walks and I shared this memory with her and she said,
“…Returning to the things that gave you joy in your childhood feels like the key to regulating these days.”
To which I responded, “After all, we’re children at heart cosplaying as adults.”
We, as in society have deemed that when we reach certain ages, developmental milestones and man-made criteria - we must now be considered adults and put away childish things.
Yet, I’ve found that the things that have been nourishing to me are the things I loved in my childhood and that feed my inner child - evoking childlike wonder, amusement, curiosity and joy.
Moreover, something I find interesting is that when I’m feeling big emotions, especially heavy ones, the things that are soothing to me are things that speak directly to little me.
I recall once a family member told me of something that happened to them in their childhood that stuck with them and weeks later, I got to witness first hand that experience being triggered and I watched a grown woman go right back to being a 6 year old little girl.
Although we age and our bodies change, our childlike nature does not leave us. It gets repressed and told to conform, but it is ever present asking us to take time with it and make space for it.
So, I’m challenging you to unravel and slow down but to also, time travel to the younger you and allow yourself to fixate, to be curious, to be a beginner.
I have decided not to put away childish things but to integrate them into my life so that it may be richer & more delightful.
Here are some things I’ve been doing to make space for the child within:
Walking around and observing people things, plants & even making up stories.
Twirling around
Dance breaks
Painting
Talking through big feelings with myself
Reminding myself I am safe, secure and it’s okay.
Fixating on things & leaning into my curiosity.
What are some ways you can/do make space for your child within to unravel? Please let me know in the comments.
connect with me:
I love this piece! Taking moments to be present and immerse ourselves in the small happenings around us is so fulfilling in ways that manufactured entertained fails to be. When I used to have friends/people over I’d put away the stuffed animals in my room out of fear that I’d be perceived as childish, but I now keep them out and proudly so. Just me and the squishmallows and my friends. It’s sad that at a certain point, maybe when I was like 19, I’d internalized the thought of a “mature” looking room, policing what I should and shouldn’t keep. But having those youthful things I used to feel compelled to hide or discard are what bring me joy and comfort.
Really enjoyed this piece and I agree we have to slow down sometimes. As for childish things, I’m having a hard time remembering what I liked back then. Reading was one but I just can’t get into books the same way now.