Leaving “Childish Things” Behind

Posted by RJ Licata | August 22, 2010

Wonder and Imagination

Photo credit:SaZeOd

I was poking around on the web the other day and found an interesting article on a favorite website of mine called The Art of Manliness. Brett & Kate McKay are the team behind this informative site and they have an ongoing series called “So You Want My Job”, where they interview people who make their living in cool and desirable ways.

While reading their most recent interview, with a magician named Dennis Kyriakos, I read something he said that I thought was profound and sad at the same time.

Kyriakos is talking about the sense of mystery involved in magic and how some men feel the need to figure out how he does a trick to impress people or show that they’re in control, and he said this:

My son views the entire world with these great big eyes, soaking it all in. It’s amazing to behold. But as a child grows up they are taught to leave “childish things” behind.

That quote rings so true to me because I see it all the time. I think we all see it, in ourselves maybe, but definitely in others. We might fail to notice that we’re seeing it, but we do. And when a quote like Dennis’s pops up, we realize what we’ve been ignoring all along.

We’ve all felt like we have to “leave ‘childish things’ behind”.

It’s part of growing up, that we put our toys away in boxes and pack up our teddy bears to hand over to our children one day. But do we have to pack up our imaginations too? What about our youthful wonder at the simple things in life?

Have you ever watched a young child play outside? With zero toys?

The next time you see that happening, notice the smile on their face. Watch them stare at the trees when they hear the noise the wind makes when it blows through the leaves. Watch how amazed they are when a plane flies by overhead. When was the last time you appreciated something so simple?

It’s been a while, huh?

Allowing Your Adult-Self and Inner-Child to Coexist

One of my most favorite places on the planet is Disney World. My wife and I went there in the summer of 2009 B.C. (before child).

Why it’s such a great place is a topic of another post (or ten), but the most notable thing is the way it causes people to transform when they’re there. It’s perfectly acceptable for an adult to feel like a kid, which is why it’s such a joy for all ages.

The challenge in the real (non-Disney) world is how you can extend that feeling, that sense of wonder, to your everyday life. It’s not easy when taking care of a house and family is sandwiched around a full-time job with an overbearing boss or an annoying co-worker.

There are two things that make it easier, though. They are awareness and effort.

Being aware that we’re moping around, that we’re going through the motions, is the first step in finding joy in life again. Sure there may be moments during the day or week when we really have a good time, when we feel good about things. But how long does that last?

In an attempt to use a horrible cliche because it fits better than anything else – take the time to smell the roses. When we were kids, we had no preconceptions about how shitty life was. We were blown away by the simplest things. Those simple things are still as amazing – we just got too old to notice.

The second part of that is effort. Effort to notice what’s there and appreciate how awesome it is. Effort to use your imagination and creativity to play the adult-versions of make believe. I’m not talking R-rated adult, I mean having dreams and setting goals and being wide-eyed again.

Going through the motions is easy, and enjoying life takes effort. But that effort is rewarded with an amazement for how awesome life is. It offers you the ability to look at magic like it’s the world’s greatest mystery again. It’s the key to staying young, just ask Dennis Kyriakos.