Through the years, we lose the innocence, the naivety, and the wonder that we are born with as children. As we grow up, we learn to accommodate society by adhering to certain rules and expectations. Life experiences sometimes harden our hearts in relationships and make it difficult to allow others into our lives. We begin to have certain expectations of our own and begin to judge others accordingly. We take for granted simple things in life like sunrises and sunsets. In the blur that life becomes, we forget how to laugh, how to truly love, and how to give of ourselves completely. So, here’s what I think:

We should say what we think and state our opinions often with little regard to proper etiquette. We should make friends easier, without judgment or criticism. We should play hard until sweat pours off our foreheads and we reek of the outdoors. We should give hugs when we feel like it, not just during the “appropriate” times. We should take in the smallest details as if it were the first time we were seeing them. We should not have to eat anything we don’t like, and we should not have to clean our plates unless we are truly hungry. We should be more agreeable when things don’t go our way, and just move on and find something else to do. We should snuggle often and soak in the smells of the person we are snuggling with. We should always question what we don’t understand without fear of ridicule. We should believe there is nothing we cannot do. We should love with all of our hearts and forgive easily and without a grudge!

We should share our favorite desserts with our BFF’s. We should play on the swing set and slide down the slides more often. We should not be afraid to get dirty or to play in the rain. We should cry at sad movies and laugh out loud at the funny parts, even if no one else thinks it’s quite as funny. We should learn to color with crayons and feel how relaxing that can be. We should learn to dance the crazy chicken dance. We should learn to laugh at ourselves. We should know that sometimes someone can kiss our bo-bo’s and make them better if we let them. We should trust that our friends and family will play nice with us and not dwell on whether our heart will get hurt. We should stay in the bathtub until our fingers and toes have wrinkles. We should find such pleasure in doing something that we lose track of time and are able to truly enjoy the moment. We should never forget the words to lullabies. We should find friendship and love where we find it, not in where we are “supposed” to find it. We should have at least one person in our life that we feel totally and completely “safe” with.

We should always remain connected to our own child within!