Living Authentically: Lessons from the soul of a child
You know what I admire most about children? Their transparency. Children are beautiful in that way. They are born authentic. They are pure and honest and will unapologetically express themselves as and when they need to, until we as adults interfere with that.
I for one, made a vow to myself to be the person who celebrates each and everyone’s differences, even when I don’t necessarily agree or like it.
Some may see me as too relaxed, some may be cautious of me because of that, and some may see me as idyllic for that. I suspect you know which one would be preferred, though honestly any views of me are okay. I’m not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I still strive to be the kind of person whereby people feel safe to be themselves around me. So far I’ve succeeded in that and I like to think that it will only grow in others as I continue to grow in myself.
Being around children has taught me how to embrace that; they sparked in me the courage to be authentically me and I have come to truly believe that our children are just as much our guardians and we are theirs. Children can teach us so much if we just pay attention. They show us what they need and remind us of what we need.
I notice they hold so many qualities many of us aspire to have. It took me a while to realize this, but we already have everything that we see in them; it’s just that often we lose sight of it. Things like playfulness, compassion, empathy, rawness, creativity. The thing is, if we can see these things in our children, it means we have it too. Not just because they may be flesh and blood, or because they learnt it from us, but because we too were born with those same abilities.
We once knew how to be fully ourselves, we once didn’t care too hard about the opinion of others, we once knew exactly who we were and what we stood for, and we once trusted ourselves wholly and completely. I take action to live that way every single day and you can too.
I invite you to relive a day from a child’s point of view; the child you care for, or your own inner child. Let yourself remember what it’s like to be 100% authentic, to be autonomous, to be soulful, to be free.