I have always lived with people 'like me'. I didn't have to fight for my beliefs or bend to huge challenges. But the words flooding me these days suggest I need to think like a child. Not in an immature way, but spontaneous, free and filled with hope and possibility. When a child is asked what they want to be when they grow up, the response is most often immediate and sincere. But the slow aging process, social norms and peer pressure bury that profound certainty that anything is possible and in its place is reticence, a lack of thinking with the heart and penchant to think with the head.
Why can't I be like my kid self right now, investigating a life alone and being more open in my approach. I mean nothing seems impossible to kids, right? When my head tells my heart that my idea, approach or path won't work, that's the exact time I need to reach out to my kid voice and surrender to possibility without fear.
I'm working on it.... a birthday party with kids, a pottery class, loving on my friend's dog Selah, a week of belly laughs visiting my brother and his wife... perhaps a slow road, perhaps an endless journey, but without intention it will stay grounded in abject grief.
Consider your journey right now. Is it satisfying, hopeful, truthful?