For me seeking my dreams has felt like a note being played, that only I can hear.
So I choose dance to the beat of my own unique drum.
As it turns out, it takes 1200… miles that is to crack!
Yesterday, I arrived to the place that pulls me inward every year. I pulled into this sweet sweet home away from home blaring the Lion King soundtrack “naaaaahhhhh siquinyaaaaa, boba da vitchita ba, quinyaaa yay”…. or so I say. I’m sure we all chanted our own version of this song as kids. We didn’t know the words and it really didn’t matter. We FELT the essence of what it was offering us.
I giggled and laughed for the last 3 miles of the drive. Belting out lyrics I haven’t sang for decades. Time having erased most of the words, I had to just laugh as I made up what I couldn’t remember.
When did we stop being so carefree?
When did we stop singing at the top of our out of tune lungs, just for the hell of feeling so alive and in a moment?
As kids we lacked the social awareness that there are rules that keep singing to those that do it artfully. As children we are so very unaware of the rules that society has for us, that we can get lost for hours exploring and playing. And then one day that stops. We hear the whisper of the lyrics that lie ahead, the ones that beckon us to grow up. We begin to dance to the rhythm that our community lays out for us.
I’ve found an incredible piece of this Into the Wild journey has been coming back to the innocence. Chasing the curiosities. Getting lost in a playful moment.
Take a moment to get lost in these thoughts or pull out your journal and explore:
What did you love as a child?
What activities or creativity did you get lost in for hours as a kid?
What could you not wait to do each summer when you got out of school for the year?
What did your inner child want to be when he/she grew up?
What happened to that little girl/boy? The one that loved to play outside and talk to lizards while waving around a magic stick? Why did we stop turning over stones just to see if there might be treasure beneath? Running with no direction or fitness goal in mind? That inner child is still in there. It has all the secrets to happiness that our adult form can integrate and begin to once again set free.
If you’ve ever witnessed a child in their imagination, you’ve likely done so in awe. How do they come up with this stuff? How do they even know who Babe Ruth is? They play as if what their mind is showing them is real. Nothing has shown them, up to this point that what they dream of isn’t the way that it “should” be.
What if we as adults could let our guard down again and learn to rediscover that deep connection with our own sense of wonderment? Remind the mind that it’s safe to come out and play.
If we come back to this inner child, we will slowly witness the pieces of ourselves that have been missing. We do so with a deep sense of respect and wonderment, inviting a greater sense of knowing that has been locked away for so many years. Inviting the playfulness to come out with the intention to be shown a greater sense of Purpose; what we’re meant to do in this life to serve, to share happiness, and ultimately to have a greater sense of peace for our very human-ness.
It probably comes as no great surprise that my entire childhood was themed around trampling through desert brush and dodging rattlesnakes. For me, a big piece of this Into the Wild journey was in efforts to reconnect with her, my own inner child. Now I find myself more alive than ever and seemingly mirroring that child through my adult formed expressions.
The work I’ve done to heal and release my inner child has been instrumental in my life’s work and honing in on the “What do I want” question. It’s fueled the curiosity that has clued me into the synchronicities of life. If you were to sneak up on me on a trail you might find me with my nose to the ground looking for clues, or climbing a tree to see what I can see. That’s my inner 6 year old being released and reminding me that their is magic that this life gets to be infused with. Goofy, playful, passionate… and so freely ME.
Respect the Wonderment
that life has to reveal to us.
SING. DANCE. PLAY. EXPLORE.
DARE TO DREAM!
Life is a beautiful journey. I hope you Venture Well.