The Eyes Of A Child

You can search these eyes from now to eternity and you won't find a trace of hatred, anger, judgment, bigotry, jealousy, intolerance, harshness, criticism, rejection, self-loathing, exclusion, greed, pride, bitterness, prejudice, fear, guilt, or shame.
 
What you will find is kindness, curiosity, warmth, gentleness, vulnerability, softness, authenticity, inclusiveness, spontaneity, awe, wonder, playfulness, self-acceptance, forgiveness, endless second chance coupons, a sense of adventure, and grace - limitless grace.
 
Here’s the thing: Once upon a time these were your eyes too – and mine.
 
But something happened on the way to adulthood. Lots of things actually. Harsh things. Hurtful things. Hard things. Things that convinced us there was no place in an adult world for the soft pieces of us. We came to believe that if we were going to survive as adults we would need hard edges, leather tough skin, and titanium shells around our hearts.
 
And so, we hurriedly boxed up the few pieces of our childhood selves that remained, like the remnants of a gourmet meal, placed them in the deep freeze, put on the bravest face we could find, and set out to conquer the world. Eventually, in our busyness and obsessive desire to succeed, we forgot those pieces were even there and with each passing year cared a little less.

As it turns out, we were dead wrong. The world didn't and doesn’t need us to be less childlike, it needed and needs us to be more childlike. It didn't and doesn’t need harder hearts. It needed and needs softer ones. The good news is: Ours are right where we left them – maybe encrusted in a little freezer burn, but none the worse for wear and eager to be set free.

Thank you, Macie Paige for the weekend reminder that this life thing isn’t nearly as complicated as we insist on making it out to be, that the answers to most of our very adult problems reside in the heart of a child, and that we’re never too old, nor is it ever too late to find our way back to the place where all of us began.