Enchanted, Amazed, Curious, and Adventurous

"It made me realize that even when everyone is doing the same thing,

we all do it differently.  Some faster, some slower.  Some with ease,

some with great difficulty.  But the thing is, you can't compare yourself

to how anyone else is doing.  What matters is your race, not how everyone

else is running it."

Sarah Dessen

As little children, we are so enchanted, amazed, curious, and adventurous.  These qualities seem to lose value during our school years.  We learn to color within the lines, stand in lines, take numbers, and conform.  There is a middle road of fueling our imagination without disturbing the collective.  We can learn while heightening our creativity, rather than eliminating it.

At the other end of the spectrum, moving my awareness from childhood to senior living, I am entertained by the surge of old desires during this period.  Many retired people seemingly return to areas of strength that were never explored past childhood.  Revisiting old passions creates a new blossom to grow.  Whether it is music, dance, writing, painting, charity, or support services, many elders are using the last segment of their lives to fully use repressed skills to feel vibrant once again.  

The sense of creative freedom we experience in childhood, often returns in our later years.  As we age, we reclaim lost parts of our expression and discover new ways to enhance them, all without caring about competitiveness or the opinions of others.  Those choosing to do this, seem to have a sparkle in their eye, and an enthusiasm to live as they were truly meant to be.

This really isn't an either/or scenario.  Creativity doesn't just flourish in childhood and then re-surface in later years.  Authentic expression is with us permanently, and we have the choice of when and how we use it. As we experience on our middle years with family or careers, we can arrange for our artistic side to emerge.  Just how much we do this depends upon our estimation of  self worth.  

With a little discipline and planning, anyone can continuously polish personal skill.  Discover a small wedge of time to maintain the strong sense of self.  When we make effort to keep our juices flowing, we once again feel enchanted, amazed, curious, and adventurous.