Did you ever notice that as very young children, we live in the moment, eagerly, almost ravenously, expanding our knowledge of the world and all it has to offer. We see something pretty or shiny, our brain says ‘touch it’. We feel something nubby, or slick and our brain says ‘taste it’. We are confidently impulsive, boldly trying any new thing that comes into our path.
As we get older our brain rescues us from impending doom, recalling unpleasant memories associated with certain encounters.
Iron...hot...ouch! ‘Don’t touch it’.
Wore a funny hat...kids laughed at me...‘Don’t wear it.’
Expressed my dream...people teased me...‘Don’t say it.’
Some of those lessons served us well. No one enjoys getting burned, a lesson I still haven’t learned, as I burn myself all the time. But many of those lessons, protective as they may have been at the time, have created a hole in our spirit that has become crippling in our adulthood.
The memory of the teasing we experienced after going to school sporting a ‘Cat in the Hat‘ stove pipe hat quietly and insidiously wormed it’s way into our psyche, first warning us not to wear any red and white hats.
From there, like a bad case of poison ivy, our brain spreads it’s warning to wearing anything striped, and possibly, it spreads even further to wearing anything with a pattern. No doubt this is the foundation of the black, Goth movement of today.
From the first ruinous wearing of the fabulously fun hat, every article of clothing suddenly becomes a weapon for social ridicule, and snubbery ( a word I made up because I couldn’t come up with a real one).
This restrictive practice grows and grows like a rubber band ball, layer upon layer of ‘don’t do this’, ‘don’t say that’. Until one day we find our world has become so small and so confined, we can no longer breathe. It seems as though we have grown to fear the very breath we take, because it may lead us down a road to certain disaster.
I have to ask, what kind of a life is that? Who’s life is that? If I give over to fear, if I give everyone the power to dictate how I talk, what I wear, how I play and how I find joy, what is left of the real me and the life I am meant to lead.
I talked to a women a short time ago about my work, and the importance of finding joy in life by playing like a child. Her response was ‘Who would want to do that? You’d get laughed at.” So, she doesn’t play. My heart aches for her.
Playing, however you define it, is what makes life worth living. It is what makes the mundane, day to day task of life bearable. The complaining customer, the crabby boss, traffic jams, grocery lines, shoot...fixing dinner for the last eleven thousand 495 nights (the number of nights I’ve been married), joyful, unreserved playing makes it all worth it.
What secret pleasure do you wish you could enjoy like a child but are afraid to express? We all have them, hidden away like a shiny treasure. It’s time to open the treasure chest, dust off your dreams, and wear your secret pleasure with pride
You are an adult now. You get to step forward and claim your joy. You truly don’t need to listen to anyone that may smirk or ridicule, because, as an adult, you have the power to walk away. As an adult, you can start your own Cat in the Hat Club, where everyone proudly, and joyously wears that funky, fun hat.
I admit, it will take some courage, so start small. Wear an outrageous pin, or sport a new colored blouse. You don’t need to start out hula-hooping in your front yard. Whatever it is that you choose, wear it with pride. Hold your head high and repeat to yourself ‘Yep! I’m doing this. It makes me really happy.‘
I guarantee people will smile at you. They may even giggle. But, they will be smiling because you look happy. They will giggle because they are enjoying the pleasure you are finding in the moment, or because you dared to be happy.
Because you had the guts to play like a child and find joy in experiencing all life has to offer. Now, you are living the life you were meant to lead, funky hat on your head, and hoola-hoop a twirling, shouting ‘Yep, I’m doing this! Because it makes me really happy!’
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