Have we forgotten the freedom and audacity of youth? Recall how good it felt to feel powerful and magnificent beyond measure during early childhood. It was for many a time when we took for granted that the world was a safe and very loving place. We believed we could fly and be whatever we envisioned and our imagination knew no limits. We felt we were special, appreciated and secure, at least briefly. How is it that such a joyful time has been all but forgotten in adulthood? Life got in the way, somehow. Unfortunately, too, many of us grew to learn that the love of our parents was conditional. Is it any wonder that this hard life lesson lead to many of the limited beliefs that we acquired since then about how life is supposed to be? That most significant childhood lesson of all touched us deeply and permanently. All good things, we deduced, were conditional upon our good behaviour, and our ability to fit in and adapt. Our thinking became fear-based as we matured into adulthood. Our reality went from love-based to fear-based, from freedom to bondage.
It has been said that we spend the better part of the first half of life learning the rules and conditions for success and happiness. Our learning comes from authority figures at home, school, at work and at church. But the self nor the soul’s purpose will be denied forever. Eventually, as we lose ourselves in the process of following the dictates of others, an emptiness begins to pervade us. It is the self, longing to be expressed again, as it was in early childhood before the process of socialization began in earnest. The second half of our life is then often followed by the process of unloading the baggage we acquired in the first half: a good thing if one senses that the self has been ignored and denied.
The first sign of trouble within us is a malaise, and the initial response to that is a feeling that there must be something wrong with oneself. This mistaken belief is then often followed by application with renewed and even greater efforts made to meet or exceed the expectations of others. But ultimately one faces the dawning realization that seeking approval of others cannot and will not produce the longed-for inner peace. At this point, it is not yet obvious that one must turn one’s vision inward for answers. That comes after much more pain and several signs have appeared that finally lead one to a better analysis and conclusion: one finally discovers it is futile to believe that repeating self-defeating patterns will change one’s circumstances to create new results. At last we discern that we must change and become our selves and seek to discover the authentic gift to humanity we were meant to offer the world, in order to have the change we seek and the life fulfillment we yearn for. We are destined to return to a life that is love-based and self-loving, like the ways of a child, if we are to tap into our greatness and joy in life.
Getting in touch with the feelings of joy and freedom experienced at least briefly in childhood is an excellent starting point for inner world and outer world change. Tapping into creative outlets and interests and talents often discarded in adulthood can serve to evoke renewed feelings of hope. Knowing that each one of us is special and a ‘work of art,’ in a unique way, is a leap of faith we all once possessed and would do well to reclaim. It’s our birthright. We deserve the best in life and the world deserves to share in the special gift that each one of us possesses and was destined to bring forth in the world. Our love of ourselves must be unconditional.
We were destined to step up and into our power. It is the loving way and a force for good in a very troubled world. Had we made the (self-) love-based choices rather than the fear-based ones, the world would be a far more peaceful place. We are works of art destined to share our precious and unique gifts with the world. Start now. We can and we must. Playing small serves noone. The world needs you and me.
