While taking a post dinner stroll with a friend in my apartment complex,suddenly my eyes fell on the deserted children s play area, with slides ,swings ,see saw and sand ........... and suddenly it was like a trip down the memory lane.Needless to say that we shed all our pseudo adult inhibitions for a while and became like seven year olds again, and to say the feeling was exhilarating would be an understatement.
But it also got me thinking on why do we discard these small pleasures of life as we grow up?? Why, as we climb up the age ladder, we keep leaving the curious, inquisitive and fun elements of our life behind? and soon we reach a point where we completely loose them. Sad is it not? As a child i always used to wonder why dont the adults come and play like we do? or why dont they shout in glee when the swing takes them higher? They always seemed to have an expression on their faces which i could not identify with, much later I realised that was Worry!Now an adult, i still feel the same when i look at my fellow adult beings. Not that i do things any differently from others ...Iam very much what a child would describe as a quientessential 'BORING' adult...... but this adult more than often misses the child she was.
Life has a funny pattern, as children we cant wait to grow older. Birthdays are the only highlights of a year apart from summer and winter vacations.Life is all about homeworks and playing with friends. School is a routine thats eagerly awaited. Nothing seems mundane and we just NEVER get bored. There is always something to do, something new to discover, some random rule to break, some prank to play or if nothing else then there is the favourite cartoon movie to be watched again and again, and it manages to capture our rapt attention even the hundredth time. Life is uncomplicated to the hilt, but then we humans have the tendency to be drawn towards complications right from the minute we are born, and thus we are in a hurry to grow older.Everyone old looks like an enigma and one cant just wait to get there......
Adoloscence brings along with itself hormones, pimples,boyfriends,girlfriends,gossip sessions,crank calls,love at first sight, heart breaks and mills n boons(to mend broken hearts) but the curiosity is still alive, the zeal to explore life, the zest to take the world by a storm, the hunger to succeed, the passion and love for life, the desire to experience first love, and therefore the innocence is still intact. We have not yet been engulfed by adulthood and its defined boundries.
So, come adulthood and there goes your curiosity and free will for a complete toss. Life suddenly becomes LIFE( as if it was something else all this while!), birthdays are dreaded, it seems like a task to be innovative and inquisitive, the feeling of been there done that is predominant and there sets in a monotany which is enhanced by stress at work and compounded by domestic responsibilities. Being tied down by social norms and compulsions, suddenly one ceases to live life for himself. Its all about living life the right way, and your path unfortunately is chartered out by everyone else except you. Burdened by the expectations to be an ideal grown up, we loose the child in us who taught us to savour the simple pleasures of life. Suddenly life seems like an endless journey,which once upon a time was a joyride.
The swing today made me realise it need not be like this. We need not loose the child in us in order to please the adults in others. Being socially bound is a grounding factor which is essential in everyones life but being socially burdened is a liability that can be done away with. Growing up physically cant be revoked, but you can definitely decide how old would the child in you grow,and believe me it should not grow beyond 13.
But it also got me thinking on why do we discard these small pleasures of life as we grow up?? Why, as we climb up the age ladder, we keep leaving the curious, inquisitive and fun elements of our life behind? and soon we reach a point where we completely loose them. Sad is it not? As a child i always used to wonder why dont the adults come and play like we do? or why dont they shout in glee when the swing takes them higher? They always seemed to have an expression on their faces which i could not identify with, much later I realised that was Worry!Now an adult, i still feel the same when i look at my fellow adult beings. Not that i do things any differently from others ...Iam very much what a child would describe as a quientessential 'BORING' adult...... but this adult more than often misses the child she was.
Life has a funny pattern, as children we cant wait to grow older. Birthdays are the only highlights of a year apart from summer and winter vacations.Life is all about homeworks and playing with friends. School is a routine thats eagerly awaited. Nothing seems mundane and we just NEVER get bored. There is always something to do, something new to discover, some random rule to break, some prank to play or if nothing else then there is the favourite cartoon movie to be watched again and again, and it manages to capture our rapt attention even the hundredth time. Life is uncomplicated to the hilt, but then we humans have the tendency to be drawn towards complications right from the minute we are born, and thus we are in a hurry to grow older.Everyone old looks like an enigma and one cant just wait to get there......
Adoloscence brings along with itself hormones, pimples,boyfriends,girlfriends,gossip sessions,crank calls,love at first sight, heart breaks and mills n boons(to mend broken hearts) but the curiosity is still alive, the zeal to explore life, the zest to take the world by a storm, the hunger to succeed, the passion and love for life, the desire to experience first love, and therefore the innocence is still intact. We have not yet been engulfed by adulthood and its defined boundries.
So, come adulthood and there goes your curiosity and free will for a complete toss. Life suddenly becomes LIFE( as if it was something else all this while!), birthdays are dreaded, it seems like a task to be innovative and inquisitive, the feeling of been there done that is predominant and there sets in a monotany which is enhanced by stress at work and compounded by domestic responsibilities. Being tied down by social norms and compulsions, suddenly one ceases to live life for himself. Its all about living life the right way, and your path unfortunately is chartered out by everyone else except you. Burdened by the expectations to be an ideal grown up, we loose the child in us who taught us to savour the simple pleasures of life. Suddenly life seems like an endless journey,which once upon a time was a joyride.
The swing today made me realise it need not be like this. We need not loose the child in us in order to please the adults in others. Being socially bound is a grounding factor which is essential in everyones life but being socially burdened is a liability that can be done away with. Growing up physically cant be revoked, but you can definitely decide how old would the child in you grow,and believe me it should not grow beyond 13.
:) ... two thumbs up Myu ... don't worry... remind me if you ever feel that i am losing the child in me and i'll do the same :P ... that way we'll always keep the child in us alive n kickin ;) ...
ReplyDeletewell u still have a looong time b4 u loose the child in you....as for me.... i d rather never loose her, she helps me keep my sanity in the most adverse life situatioms:)
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