Young at Heart: The Benefits of Freeing Your Inner Child
In my past blog posts I have focused on the psychological issues of the children in our society. However in this post I would like to focus on the children within each of us and the benefits of letting go of our mature facades and acting like kids every now and again.
It seems when you are a child you have infinite capacity and capability to dream. As we grow older it is not the ability to dream we lose, but the power to believe that our outlandish dreams will actually come true. We no longer shoot for the stars, but rather aim lower, become more practical and realistic in our endeavors. Our dreams transform in to more pragmatic goals that we spend all our time trying to achieve. Overtime we grow and mature and seem to lose the little child within us. In her blog, Prescriptions for Life, Dr. Susan Biali recently commented on the importance of maintaining a relationship with your inner child. The wellness expert and longtime blogger for Psychology Today draws on her own personal experiences on dealing with depression and how reconnecting with her "brilliant, no-limits mini-[me]" saved her life. As kids we lived carefree and did what we loved "before society and external influences start[ed] telling [us] who [we] should be". Biali explains from a personal and medical standpoint how important it is to engage yourself in activities you love the way you were when "you're eight or nine years old, [when] you're most likely to be in touch with your true essence". When we are that young and innocent our views are not clouded by the perceptions of others. We know what we are good at and we do what we love. We tend to misplace that essence of naturalness as we mold ourselves into ego driven workaholics and accumulate an array of mental and physical health problems in its place. In her post Biali notes "rediscovering your dreams, play, and your innate creativity and artistry will also likely have a significant impact on your physical and mental health". Biali advocates that "our lives aren't really complete" until we tap into our inner creative personality. My comment addressing this topic can be found below, as well as at the link provided.
"Cure Your Life Through Creativity"
Comment:
We are programmed to want the best of everything. We toil in the best schools, fight for the best jobs, hunt for the best homes, but unfortunately most people do not take a moment to stop and enjoy their achievements the best they can. We are constantly discontent with our present situations and so caught up in the drudgery that has become life that we forget what it was like when we were kids and every little thing was miraculous and full of adventure. In the hit film Knocked Up, Paul Rudd's character summarizes this phenomena perfectly, "I wish I liked anything as much as my kids like bubbles". I completely agree that finding a way back to the mentality that allows a small part of you to feel that bubbles are magical will work wonders and change your outlook on life. While progression and personal advancements are very important, creative exploits are often neglected and should be viewed with equal importance and should become part of daily rituals.
Veterinarian. Chef. Circus animal trainer. Doctor. Spice Girl. Photographer. These were only a few of my dream jobs in the fourth grade. Fast-forward ten years I ended up studying psychology. At first I loved it, but by sophomore year the strain of a full load of psychology courses began to eat away at me. After diagnosing myself with every mental disorder in my Abnormal Psychology book, I decided I needed a break. I enrolled in a photography course, and though it was very time consuming, it was the best thing I could have ever done for myself. As it turned I have no eye for light or creative talent at all whatsoever. It was the developing of the pictures in the dark room that hooked me. The quiet space where I would make images appear onto a page was almost magical. The ability to make something from nothing was intoxicating, however class once a week was not enough. In her blog The Art of Mind, Lisa A. Riley explains the importance of daily creative indulgences. "Making time to nourish the creative aspects of ourselves should become as equally important as the time we take to eat, take our supplements, go to doctor appointments, exercise...Creativity is not only an essential part of being human, but can also sustain our emotional and spiritual wellbeing". I believe that to truly allow the creativity to ease to strain of daily life is to engage in an activity daily. Be it a moment of creative spontaneity or a childish fit of laughter. Once a day should be the minimum.
April 6, 2010 9:57 PM
Hey Natalie! I really enjoyed reading your post on releasing the inner child. As we grow older, we focus too much on the “nitty gritty” in life and forget to look at the positive in the overall picture. In childhood, we criticize ourselves less and take pride in our unique talents and abilities, whereas in adulthood we often downplay our achievements in order to seem modest. I think one of the biggest issues we encounter as we go through the years is perfectionism, which I know I personally have always experienced; however, children are free from this affliction because they do not think to place pressure on themselves to succeed in every aspect of their lives, since they are living more simply. Obviously as adults we are forced to deal with things such as jobs, relationships with family, friends, and significant others, finances, keeping an organized home, and staying healthy, which are things we do not comprehend when we are young because we have someone else to take care of us. However, I think it can be very freeing to forget about all of these responsibilities for just a little while each day by recalling and acting on some of our earliest childhood impulses. Children are extremely adept at living in the moment and focusing on one particular activity. Acting in this fashion and doing something creative solely for personal benefit is a great reliever of stress and tension, something of which adults carry a great deal. Do you agree with the author’s position that we are more in touch with our “true essence” at a younger age, even though we develop mentally as we get on in years and therefore seem more likely to be able to understand our wants and needs?
Writing about your own experience with a creative outlet additionally helped reinforce your opinion. While you admit you had no particular talent for photography, you emphasized the importance of taking a mental break and engaging in something that speaks to you. I completely agree in the value of absorbing oneself daily in an artistic activity as a way to indulge; by taking part in an activity that has nothing to do with other personal stresses, one is able to disconnect and live in a world free from worries and duties for a little while, recalling the ease and beauty of childhood. I think this respite actually helps us be productive in our work and home lives, since afterwards we are able to come back to “real life” with renewed vigor and concentration. Have you thought at all about why people tend to associate creativity with frivolity, and why, if it benefits us so much mentally, that the artistic outlet is the first thing we tend to cut out of our lives when time gets tight?