#365DaysOfWriting — Day One
All right, here goes. This is a little challenge I’ve given myself, inspired by Sanika Tillway. I’m going to write a little something every day of the week, starting today, and I’m not going to break the chain.
So what do I speak about on Day One? Childhood, I suppose. And why it’s so important to retain that spark of curiosity, that glow of innocence, no matter how old you get.
When Robin Williams passed away in 2014, I had written a blog post about why he meant so much to me. One of the main reasons was that he had a childlike personality. He wasn’t a child, no, he was just childlike. And I believe there’s a vast difference in the two. Robin Williams was old, he had depression (from a long time before he died) and yet, he made everyone laugh. He understood the importance of a child’s mind and the way it functions.
Most psychologists and doctors say that a child’s mind is most receptive to new thoughts and fresh ideas until the age of 5 or 6. Then they start conforming to society’s set rules — which is where the problem lies. How does one find a balance between the responsibilities of the ‘real world’ while maintaining a childlike countenance towards it?
It’s not easy. I do not have a concrete answer. At the risk of sounding naive, the only solution I have is — while facing a situation, don’t give a damn about what the world thinks, because that’s the way a child would think, right? It’s hard, but just put the responsibility part of it aside for a minute and think — if a situation in the real world didn’t have consequences attached to it, and you had to react to it like a child would, how would you react? Then work out a solution keeping that in mind.
It’s also important because curiosity comes naturally to children. As we grow older, we realise how things work and our sense of wonder gradually dies down, almost to the point of becoming cynical. I’ve seen this happen in a few people, and it’s quite sad, really (to be honest, even though I claim to be a child, and others claim that I’m an 18 year old in a 30 year old’s body, I’ve felt this uneasy cloud of cynicism hover over my consciousness for a while now). If there was a way to hold on to that childlike wonder, that thirst to know the hows and whys… the world would be a better place. At least I think so.
That’s it for Day One though. I’m sorry if I rambled on for too long. This is something very close to my heart and I felt the need to talk about it. I may pick up the discussion in a later post. Or I may not. I can be moody that way.
Signing out! And see you on Day Two (hopefully).
