Saturday, May 20, 2006

Everyday Life 16 Imagination

I wrote the last post because I was reflecting on my childhood. I had fun as a child, but I didn't have many friends. I ran and played like every kid, but there was loneliness and fear. I feared for my moms life, I feared the man she loved. Still I think I knew myself better back then compared to today. Sky was the limit, although I never knew which "man" would come home to my mom. I played with my toys, and I imagined new and different things.

I imagine things totally different now to compared to when I was a kid. For example when I was a kid I imagined that the whole world was going to end unless my toys came and saved the day. Everything that I new was based on the idea of right or wrong, good or bad!

Today my imagination seems to stem from my dreams to live a happier life! I may see things as a kid from time to time, but not everyday.

As I grew older and I saw the grim reality this world had to offer, my imagination seemed to dim. Reality is much more harsh than the world that I saw through my eyes as a child. Stress, Worries, violence, is too much for any adult to handle. I dulls the mind and makes us become numb. As the metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood occurred, I noticed that there was less and less time for dreaming. School may have helped get me prepared for the real world (not really), but it sapped some of the life out of me too. Deadlines on homework assignments or reports could be a pain, but it was part of the progression to becoming an adult. Now most adult's lives revolve around these "deadlines" and "assignments". I'm sure there are some jobs or careers out there that are really fun, but the average adult today doesn't really feel like they are living there dream.

Imagine that the key to your happiness is placed on one of three roads! One road is filled with barbwire and traps, the second road is paved really well with beautiful flowers, but there is a man with an evil look holding a contract and a pen awaiting your arrival, and the third road is a cracked and ridged road that heads toward darkness and the unknown. Which path would you take?

Okay now think of it this way. Would you scratch and claw your way past others to get to the top, would you sell your soul to the devil to make your life better, or would you
"Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" .

Life was so much more simple as a child, if only everyone was given another moment as a child, maybe the world would be a better place to live in afterwards.

6 comments:

Emily Suess said...

I hear ya. I recently caught up with a grade school friend of mine. While we were chatting on the phone the other night, we just kept saying "Man, I wish we were still kids. Things were so much easier when we were kids."

X. Dell said...

I understand the loss of clarity of purpose that comes along with maturity, and in the fading ability of imagination to triumph over consensual reality.

Yet for everything that's lost, something is gained. In childhood, you have no authority. No one takes you seriously, and everybody's telling you what to do. Adult autonomy and empowerment offers us the opportunity to do and accomplish things we never could as children.

Frankly, childhood for me was quite difficult. Adulthood is much easier.

DesLily said...

of course many want to keep childhood.. no responsibilities to face and most of all.. "you will live forever", because only old people die.. well, I'm old.. so sure I'd take being a kid again lol..

Ari said...

I take more than a few moments a day to be a "kid" again. I don't know.. I don't think it's that I want to relive my childhood, but more of a "I can be totally oblivious and happy for a few moments without worrying about responsibilities" sort of thing. I guess you could say it's more like stopping to smell the roses.

Ari

Chelle said...

I didn't have much of a childhood. I was taking care of my brother when I was 9 years old till today, as my parents chose to party at bars instead of coming home. Good thing I started cooking at the age of 4, eh?

I don't see a difference from being an adult to being a child.
I still color (stamping and scrapbooking = coloring) I still watch cartoons and still would rather watch Disney over anything on TV today. I still enjoy the simple things. I don't "need" anything.

X. Dell said...

Chelle, it's a good thing you didn't burn the house down while cooking as a four-year-old.