Your inner child called: He wants you to come out and play. Don’t forget to bring the dad jokes...
- Megan Maysie
- Aug 12, 2024
- 4 min read
Exuberance may be the best word to describe a child. Even an inner child. We spend too much time being shocked – like Benjamin Franklin was when he discovered electricity, but by tapping into our inner child, life can be so much more fun.
When was the last time you laughed till you cried at a knock, knock joke? Do you even know how to get a squirrel’s attention? Act like a nut...
Was that half a smile I saw on your face? Maybe your inner child is begging for you to come play for a while.
The Wonder And Wander Of Being A Child
Mustering up a positive comment despite being ridden with cancer, a friend replied rather sardonically to my question about how she is today, "Well, it was going a lot better when I still lived in my dad's house." Maybe it was the bad dad jokes she missed because, as a lot of dads say, “I enjoy telling bad puns. That’s how I roll.” But for my friend, it may also have been the absolute conviction that she was loved, unconditionally, simply because she was her.
Children have an innate ability to completely comprehend that they are the center of their universe in a completely unselfish, unarrogant way. They have to keep moving- if they sit down, the sun sets, making the world feel a little less light, heavier, and darker.
They may be smarter than us, knowing how to pull a fast one better than any cheetah, but without any malice- just for fun. It’s a blissful existence to be able to believe you can fly- unless you’re a fly without wings, in which case you’re a walk. But walking in wonderment is good too. Even a wandering mind has value, unless it wanders so far it gets completely lost.
As an adult, I scream when I’m frustrated, but for kids, ice cream turns tears to joy in an instant, the reason for the misery being tossed away in favor of the prospect of joy, and a sugar rush, although they really don't overthink it like that. Life, for a child, just isn’t really complicated, but it may help that they don’t have bills to pay and deadlines to meet.
Kids stress over getting into trouble but if you’re the parent’s inner child you already understand that your parents only gave you that weird middle name so you could know when you’re in trouble, like, “Megan Lostyourmarbles Maysie, cut the crap!”
Conjuring up vivid images and storylines, kids do sometimes get scared and need reassurance, but seldom suffer clinical anxiety, and even fewer become nervous wrecks on the seabed, maybe just have a tantrum or two to keep their parents engaged.
Being a child truly is a wonderful and wonder-filled life. Jealous much?
How To Discover Your Inner Child
1. Embrace and enjoy life
2. Look around at what kids are doing for inspiration
3. Breathe deeply and often, inhaling the good and breathing out the bad.
4. Enjoy life and look for happiness in even the weirdest places
5. Use your initiative without letting fear hold you back
6. Keep an open mind- like a sieve.
7. Open your eyes to see what’s around you, really looking at things that catch your attention
8. Absorb new experiences like a sponge.
9. Talk to a therapist
Channel Your Inner Child (with a little help from dad jokes)
I hope you're not in a cornfield, I have some secrets about channeling your inner child to tell and there are just too many ears in a cornfield to be able to tell a secret. If that sounds corny, you may not love the next kernels of wisdom. To discover your inner child:
1. Relax: Kidnapping is great until someone wakes you up.
2. Let your enthusiasm outweigh your fears: If you’re afraid of hurdles, get over them. Kids take on new challenges without the kind of fears adults see. (But ask your inner parent to watch and keep you safe)
3. Dress for fun: If you’re a lawyer, you may want to bring your swimming briefs or wear your camouflage outfit, if you can find it.
4. Do the recreational things you thought would be cool when you were a child: If swimming with sharks is too much- it costs an arm and a leg, travel with the birds and go someplace cheep.
5. Find someone to play with you: Even if you would rather be fishing, the best way to catch a fish is to ask someone to throw it to you
6. Listen to catchy music (even while you’re fishing): A broken guitar may come with no strings attached, so rather sing a happy song.
7. Play with animals or go climb a tree: You can tell the difference between a dog and a tree by their bark.
8. Spend time discovering nature: Remember to wear sunscreen, especially if you’re a banana- they peel!
9. Indulge yourself occasionally: Elephants paint their toenails red, orange, green, brown, and yellow to hide their M&M's, try it sometime.
10. As time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a peach: Make your time peachy.
11. Don’t be like a dull pencil: It’s pointless.
12. Tell stupid jokes. And laugh at them, even your own.
And if you just read this article and laughed- or even tried to squash a smile, you did just channel your inner child. Feels great, right?
PS: There are 25 bad puns/ dad jokes on this page. Sorry (not sorry).
NOTE FROM GEZINTA: Trauma is a serious subject and its effects are not to be taken lightly. But healing from trauma means taking time out to enjoy life away from ruminations that cast shadows on our worlds, and laughing is an effective way to find a little happiness. And that is what we hope this article gave you.
But if your inner child needs healing from the wounds of rejection, abandonment, humiliation, betrayal, and injustice, it’s a good time to think about working on it while your inner child is in a good mood, and won’t (hopefully) clam up too much.
We'll be writing about healing your inner child in the not-too-distant future or- depending on when you read this, it may already appear on our blog (search "inner child" on the search tab above). Or you are welcome to subscribe to see if it appears in our weekly newsletter (it'
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