A child’s imagination is their only reality for a very long time.
When my older sister was a child, she had an imaginary friend for a couple of years. I like to think their relationship became a little strained after my mom became pregnant. My sister’s friend was adamant about not having another human in the house. In fact, my sister once pushed my pregnant mom down the stairs, and apologized immediately after, stating that her friend didn’t think it was a good idea to have a little brother in the family.
Looking at this from the outside, it could signify my sister’s underlying fear of having another child in the house, knowing that the attention will be redirected from her to my brother. It could also mean that my sister’s imaginary friend was really a ghost on a vendetta against my mom. I’m not a professional, but I am a true believer in childhood magic. One’s reality is endless; yet their perception is the most imperative mindset to acknowledge.
In these critical stages of a child’s life, their imagination is their reality. Imagine coming into a world and forming ideas about everything through your own curiosity and observation. Most of that dies when we get older and live by the way that people tell us things are. Before then, there exists childhood magic.
As an adult, most magic has been locked away. We get told what to do, so that we can hopefully one day tell other people the same thing, continuing a cycle that someone else initially started. As fun as the real adult world is *yawn*, I find there is something genuinely empowering about being your own rebel to yourself now.
Most if not all of us have a lot of deep rooted issues that carry into our life now, whether that may be how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, and the decisions we make everyday. As much as we like to think our hands are tied with our destiny, we fail to realize that there are many things we do have control of.
Now why am I bringing up your past? “Aren’t we looking towards the future?”
Your future is directly affected by the decisions you make in your present. But your present could be better, if you were to stop ignoring the past.
Your job is not only to resolve your childhood trauma, but to also get in touch with the child that had no cares in the world about how other people told them the world should be. Your role is not to recreate a reality that doesn’t suit you now. Instead, it is to tap into the state of mind that wants to be the student and teacher of your own reality. Ask yourself a million questions, and always end in “WHY?!” Create a million worlds in your mind, relate it to the state you are in now, and allow yourself to process different situations using the many worlds that you control or are not in control of.
There’s something bold about childhood magic. No adult wants to take that away from adorable kiddo you. Yet as an adult, it is your job to be the protector of it.
“Why would I want to do that?”
You forgot how much control you have in your life. You forgot how to think outside the box because the world told you there are only a few ways to get to where you need to be. While you are not in control of EVERYTHING, you definitely have more power; you just gave it away because someone told you it would guarantee a better path for you. How’s that working out?
This is your time to shine. Bring back the imagination of a million worlds with the maturity and security you have developed with age. Now is not the time to be a big kid, but to bring out the old, resolve the unrequited, and make anew to be the true you.
Nonna 