This morning my alarm blasted an unwelcoming cacophony of musical instruments in a successful attempt to wake me up. Rolling over to turn it off, I sighed and looked at the clock. It read 7 a.m., a reminder that I had an hour to get ready for work. Rubbing the sand out of my eyes, I left the comforts of my bed and delved into the struggles of everyday life.
Actions become habits. As I got into my car and headed down the same monotonous path, I passed by identical buildings, one after the other. When I got into the office, I was not only welcomed by sullen faced co-workers, but by gray cubicles, dim, flickering lights and blurred words on a computer screen. Emotionless like my surroundings, I sat down in my chair, logged onto my computer and began typing away at some research.
Then, I stopped. Unlike the typical life insurance or retirement plan advertisements that I normally come across, this one was different.
Before my eyes was a picture of a little girl smiling from cheek to cheek as she entered into the arms of an all-time favorite character, Mickey Mouse. The life and happiness just in that picture brought back my own memories. I remembered the first time that I went to Disney World. I was carefree and absentminded about the dangers of the world. All that I knew was, at that moment in time, I was fully happy, without a single care.
As we grow up, moments like these become fewer and fewer. We lose sight of the simple things and only live in the strains of adulthood.
Growing up is hard. Adulthood falls upon us. Whether we are ready or not, we are soon expected to look, act and behave like adults. Meanwhile, childhood fades and quickly becomes a distant memory.
Long gone are the days when the sun’s light and the chirping birds wake you up in the morning. When breakfast was not a chore, but rather an adventure, since weight was insignificant. Back then, you didn’t even know what a pound meant. All you focused on was what tasted good and if you had it in the pantry.
A daily routine consisted of television, reading and of course, laughing. You proceeded to turn on the TV, oblivious of the harsh realities that were right outside your front door. Unaware of the next door neighbor fighting to pay off his mortgage or the sweet old lady who just got laid off of her job. In this moment, life was all about you. Your favorite show had characters that were talking right to you, staring right at you, gesturing for you to join them in this virtual world. This world where the future was just a day away and life seemed infinite.
This was childhood. A time of carefree singing, dancing on the driveway and complete empowerment.
Then, adulthood takes all of that away. Life changes.
As an adult, we have responsibilities and soon find ourselves conscious of everything we do. We lose ourselves in the long eight to 12-hour work days, endless business reports and time crunches to fit in daily workouts with the few minutes that we actually allocate to ourselves. Our lives become tiresome as we try to control every aspect of them. With the little free time we have, we sleep, cook or take care of household needs, not remembering a time when we weren't contemplating and analyzing the latest statistics and reports.
Growing up is hard. Not because we actually have to work, but because something else is forced upon us as we enter the scary stage of adulthood: the unknown.
We face our greatest fears. We have to take on challenges that we cannot control. We are not just working for ourselves, but for others. People actually depend on us and create extraordinary expectations of us. The future is no longer predictable and we realize that, most of the time, we are powerless. The future shifts. It isn't worrying about what television show will be on tomorrow, but more about if that next paycheck will get deposited.
Genuine happiness withers. As we get older, this world of constant stress, pain and pressure creates a forced and artificial happiness. Worrying consumes us and we only find happiness in numbers, statistics and money, rather than in friends, family or spur of the moment events.
To find genuine happiness, a part of you must stay a child and never grow up. Yet, so many adults lose sight of their childhood, because they believe it distracts them from "real life." In actuality, it is the childlike self that keeps you sane when faced with busy work days and hours of studying. It is what allows you to let go of expectations and embrace spontaneity.
Genuine happiness is rare, but when it happens, you know it is real and you know it is there. Growing up is required while growing down is optional. Maybe more of us need to grow down. Growing down does not mean forgetting maturity and wisdom, it means taking our newfound knowledge and evolved personalities to form a foundation that starts from our childhoods and builds up. If we cease to connect with our inner child, then we not only lose imagination and innovation, we end up losing ourselves.
People who grow down become the innovators, imagineers, entrepreneurs and dreamers of the world. They are the ones that let their inner child drive their purposes. These are the people that we need more of, especially in this big scary world.
With that, my focus returned to the countless responsibilities of my job. I continued typing up some research for the upcoming project, knowing that once I got home that day, I would become a child again, fully happy and without a single care.
It is time to grow down.
