Lost Innocence Needs To Be Reclaimed
When did we lose our innocence? That spirit of purity that allowed you to experience life and absorb the good vibes around you? I was recently at a small gathering in celebration of a cousin’s graduation and I noticed the kids playing. Just playing. In this moment of time all that mattered was playing tag. There was no pandemic plaguing our world. There was no apocalyptic election that was poised to take place later this year. There was only the game. It was relaxing to actually see this tiny group of cousins just run in circles, breaking the wind with their sprints and bombarding is with giggles.
When Did We Lose Our Innocence?
I now find myself wondering when did I lose my innocence? When did we all lose our innocence? I used to run around without a care in the world. Even as I got older I took my responsibilities in stride and balanced them with carefree fun. But somewhere between the onset of puberty and my graduation of high school I lost it. I don’t know if it was hormones or becoming socially and politically aware that did it but at some point freeing play like that ceased. If I wanted to play I had to be sure I could spare the time for it. Days went from whimsical to methodically rigid so I could map out all the time needed to be a student and researcher. I’m sure many of you have gone through this same metamorphosis. But is there some unwritten rule stating we can’t reclaim those childhood feelings again?
Taking Back Our Innocence!
I feel like I should put a disclaimer here: I’m not in any way stating that we should shun our responsibilities as adults and frolic in a field. I’m stating we should carve out time in our lives and frolic in a field like we used to as kids for a while just to give our souls that uplifting feeing again. The world has been in dumpster fire mode for a while now and I don’t Know if it’s Because of the rise of social media or people are just paying more attention, but it’s weighing on our souls. Weighing us down. Keeping us grounded when we used to fly.
I’m the wake of this pandemic and unholy ceremony, I mean election year we should pencil in some fun. Go for that leisurely walk and just enjoy the sights and smells. Go play with your kids and let them take the reigns. Play a video game with no shame whatsoever. Bring some pure unadulterated joy to your life because we’ve been fighting so much these past few years. Even heavyweight boxes know when to rest. Let’s go innocently play and refresh our souls.
-LeTavious Hemingway
