Remembering Childhood
I have some very vivid memories of playful and fun times as a child. We would stay out all day playing with the neighborhood kids riding bikes, playing ball, hide and seek and creating forts and clubs. Back then, I didn’t have a care in the world. I didn’t have any responsibility for really anything except for getting home by 5 PM for dinner.
Children are so innocent and capable of playing in a way that sometimes gets lost in our growing up. We start to have responsibilities to teammates, commitments, and busyness that keeps us from hanging out and just being a kid. As we go through school, demands for success and performance seem to be conditioned into our being, and we often start to lose the sense of wonder and mystery of space, uncertainty and lack of worry.
I don’t remember exactly when my carefree little self converted into a perfectionistic, achievement-driven individual, but I believe it was somewhere after the 6th grade. Prior to that, I think the only comparison I remember feeling was whether you were in the advanced reader or math groups. Yet something started to shift with the middle school experience and the stress of performing, getting straight A’s and always achieving became my world, along with many of my friends.
Childhood Camping and Waterslides
I’m writing this blog on what would have been my father’s 84th Birthday. He’s been gone over 10 years now from Cancer, but this week I was reminded of so many fun memories that he created for us. I went to Roaring Springs (a local waterslide park) here in Boise this weekend with my husband and granddaughter and I was reminded of all the adventures my Dad took with us.
He taught me how to body surf waves in the ocean. Back then I was fearless of the thought that I could be swept out to sea, not to mention being stung by a jellyfish, or eaten by a shark. He taught me how to camp and love the outdoor campfires surrounded by nature. One camping trip from SoCal to Norcal involved us leaving a camping site due to an infestation of bees, and haphazardly stumbling upon a place called Oakwood Lake Resort. When we went there we had a beach front lake view spot where people waterskied around the lake, being pulled by large cables attached to a pulley system. Over to the right, were these weird tubular things that looked like large sewer pipes…until we got up close to them and learned they were waterslides!
I remember being so scared as the waterslides required you to launch your body into closed tubes with rushing water with great uncertainty about what was going to happen from there. Some of the tubes were actually buried underground for complete darkness…very scary for a 10 year old!
Yet I remember the joy on my face when I came out of the tube after a whirlwind of a wild ride and plummeted into a pool of water. My Dad was filled with laughter and excitement knowing that I braved the scary tube and embraced play! Back then, I knew how to have fun.
Reteaching the Childhood Spirit of Play
I think some of you can relate to the responsibility parts of yourselves that can interfere with play and the freedom of Joy. I was 40 before I began to rekindle that spirit and relearn what it meant to live authentically while letting go of things that no longer served me. I still have to get curious about those triggers that cause me to fall into productivity, but I am much better at embracing play and laughter. These past weeks with my granddaughter have been so much fun. I love adventure, being unplugged from technology and the ability to just experience the peacefulness and excitement that comes with being free from worry.
I hope you all lean into your childlike selves and find ways to bring a little more uncertainty into your world. There is truly something beautiful on the other side of worry. We just need to give ourselves permission to take risks and be vulnerable in order to live courageously moving forward.