Childhood

I can honestly say that I cannot wait for the day that I have a child of my own.  I love children. (In a totally not creepy way) There are so many days that I wish I were a child again myself.  Of all the things that I hold dearly, my inner child is the thing I protect the most.  Whenever I'm around a child, I'm reminded of this.  I think the most important thing in life to remember is to be a child.

Why? Why would that be more important than an education, a job, or making money? Don't you need that to survive?

Yes. Yes you do.  But being a child is more important, trust me on this one. I know what I'm talking about.

First and most importantly: A true child will never lie. (But kids lie all the time, they don't want to get in trouble don't they?) If a child reaches the point where they learn to lie, they are no longer in the state of true childhood.  Because the moment you learn to lie, is the moment where you start paying attention on how to please others rather than yourself.

Lying is one of the most idiotic concepts on the face of this planet. (I'm not saying I've never lied, you have to have done something quite a bit to understand why you don't like it... like eating pickles) The only reason we lie is so we don't get judged by others and possibly punished. (Punishment can take place in a number of ways: guilt, prison, sadness, loss of trust, etc...)  Why should we even care?  It was our choice, we should stick by it.  I was babysitting one of my neighbors children once. I was told that the little girl was not allowed to have a cookie until she had dinner.  Of course after about an hour of babysitting I noticed that a box of cookies was conveniently opened on the counter.  This little girl knew that she would be punished for having a cookie.  She had every reason to lie. I called her over and asked if she had one.  She gave me the strangest answer:

"No, I had four!"

Needless to say; I didn't punish her.  I was too perplexed.  This child learned that it was better to follow her wants and own up to them, not hide them.  That, I think, is the most amazing thing that a child does.

Second:  A child is the most talented improvisor that anyone will ever find. Ever. (or they have a really good imagination... same difference) Because they don't care who's watching; if they want to be a firetruck, then they are going to be a firetruck dammit!  I've been improvising for a while and still can't fathom how to truly do that.  It's so easy! And it's because they don't care!  I could have a flawless firetruck imitation, one that would fool people into thinking that I was a real one.  That wouldn't stop a child from saying his firetruck impression wasn't as good.  A child knows their abilities and how to best use them; so they never will compare themselves to others, because there is no point to doing that for them.   

I've noticed that the best actors, are the ones that do exactly that.  They stop caring about critique and just do their own thing. (I'm definitely still working towards getting to this point...)

Third: A child knows how to make friends trust.  It's a sad thing to know that people abuse this incredibly pure thing that a child does.  Children trust others.  They can't help it.  People are too much fun to not trust them and not befriend them.  When I was little, I went to a park. At this park there was a very creepy hobo.  I made friends with him. It was as simple as that.  We talked, and we had fun. (I'm not saying that everyone should go around befriending hobos but still.... there's a lesson there)  I wish all people trusted in this way, I think everyone would be a lot happier.

(Terrible? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes.)