Like reptiles we shed our soft baby skins and soft, playful spirits when we leave childhood. We embrace a tougher skin and more brittle insides that we think come with adulthood.

“We’re grown-ups now,” we say to ourselves. That means no more lounging around, letting our souls dream, and watching the day roll on by the way we used to as kids.

We allow ourselves to harden the way flowers do when they’re on the their way to die. And we forget that life is about growing, not sinking into ourselves.

And why shouldn’t we?

Life gives us more than enough reason to. It takes away our loved ones, our dreams, our hope. And it does so in such an insidious, unexpected way, how can we not relinquish the playfulness and whimsy that characterized our youth, and grab onto what’s left: fear, discouragement, disappointment?

It is, but a choice.

In my own journey, I’ve fell down the rabbit hole and picked myself up. I’ve been shamefully self-pitying and shockingly hopeful. I guess that’s just life forcing us to teeter on the edge of both.

You can feel sorry for yourself and courageous in re-inventing yourself. You can be grateful and resentful for the experiences that have been thrown at you. You can be a harden adult at times and a pliable, flexible child. There is a gift in both.

Be Who You Are

The beauty is that we can choose to garner the knowledge of our wise self and lean on our intuitive inner child. My little girl helps me be creative, to take my life less seriously and to find joy and happiness in every moment. But when I’m deciding if a person is being sincere or trying to make a life-changing decision, I adhere to the advice of my experienced, adult self.

Who you are is the compilation of every experience, every response to that experience, and every age you ever lived. You don’t need to relinquish childhood the way you outgrow a pair of pants. You have the freedom to be every single person you have ever been. You have permission to simply be.