We try to protect our young children from the tougher realities of survival. We want them to stay innocent and stay unburdened.
While we figure out how to pay bills, we want them to play without regard for the costs and demands of their existence. We shelter them from the hard core facts of scandals and substances. Instead of disclosing in detail, we gloss over adult issues with benign deference: That person made a bad decision. Done. No details.
Bringing innocence back as an adult requires a bit of effort and suspension of duties. Play must be prioritized for a moment, or a day. It’s a want and a need to pump the swing higher or dress a doll in finery. Channeling oneself from adult reality to the freedom of childhood innocence is the ultimate escape.
Remember to steal a moment or more when you see a slide, a toy or get an invitation to join the fantasy world of brick lego buildings, backyard forts or blanket tents. It’s there that the real Fountain of Youth sparkles in the sunbeams.
Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.
Dr. Seuss
