Recapturing Youth

“When I grow up, I’m going to be a beautiful Princess.”

“When I grow up, I’m going to be a big, strong, powerful hero.”

As young children, we have wonderful visions of who or what we will become when we grow up. Remember how much fun we had laughing, playing, pretending and being silly, with no care in the world, believing that the future will be bright and wonderful? Do you remember a special time in your life or a photograph of yourself with that big confident smile on your face, the one where you felt like you could conquer the world?

What happened to that child? What happened to those dreams? Where did they disappear to?
Those wonderful dreams from long ago, unfortunately, got buried and covered up by well meaning parents and teachers who, oddly enough, wanted the best for us, who wanted nothing more than for us to succeed and excel. They got buried by the school system, where we learned to compare ourselves to others, where we learned to strive for perfection, but at the same time, we developed feelings of inadequacy, of not being good enough. We learned to be our worst critic.

As we grew older, we learned to shield ourselves from being hurt by developing layers upon layers of protection. Some people put up boundaries and some put on excess weight. We began to internalize our inadequacies, storing them deep inside of ourselves. We buried the dreams, and we buried the child.

We made less time for laughter and happiness and instead filled our minds with daily stresses. We worried more and more about the future. “Will I find happiness?” “Will I find the love I desire?” “Will I be successful?” “How will I support myself/ my family?” “How will I pay my bills?”

Somehow, with our minds filled with stresses and worries, we allowed ourselves to forget about that playful innocent young child with those wonderful dreams, hopes and expectations for the future.

It is now time to change all that!! It is time to shed the layers of protection we no longer need. For a few moments, imagine removing the excess layers, one by one, removing the layers that are now holding you back. It’s okay to remove them now. When we were younger they served a purpose. We needed them to shield us, to protect us from harm and to help us grow. Now we are older and wiser and they are somewhat constricting. We choose to free ourselves from them. Just as a tree needs the bark for protection while it grows, once it reaches a point when it is big and strong, it too begins to shed the bark that was formed to protect it. And as we remove those excess layers, we begin to feel so much lighter, so much freer and so much happier. If you wish it, if you allow it, you will begin to feel that young, happy child begin to emerge. Take a deep, deep breath and feel that child, that child that is you, breathe with you as one. It feels great, doesn’t it? Listen to the child’s laughter. Taste the happiness. Look at that big, happy, contagious smile on the child’s face. You actually feel yourself begin to smile too. The child, like a magical genie emerging from a bottle, is so grateful to be liberated. Give the child a big hug, and using your childhood name, tell the child “name, I love you, and will always be with you. I will never leave you. We are a team, from this moment on. We will always be there for each other and will never ever be alone.”

Deep inside you now feel whole. You feel rejuvenated. You know that together with the child’s youthful energy and your maturity, life experiences and intelligence, you can and will conquer all.

Follow your dreams….

Follow your passion….

Follow the road to success, peace of mind, good health and happiness…..