Being children

For many people, watching sports is a waste of time.

For me, watching football (soccer) lets me be a child again. 

I’m just along for the ride, experiencing the (oftentimes intense) joy of a win or deep disappointment of a loss. (I’m an Arsenal fan.) I have no control over the performance or results. 

For 22 years, many of us get to be children. We’re following someone else’s guidance and have the freedom of responsibility that often comes with that.

And then one day (college graduation), a switch is flipped. Now we need to create and produce and figure things out ourselves.

How will I make money? Where do I want to live? How will I find a partner to build a life with? How can I take care of my health?

It’s too much, too quickly. And many of us (myself included) can get lost in the adulting. To be clear adulting is often so fulfilling. There’s an excitement to figuring things out. 

But it can’t be all there is. That would be so boring.

Our inner child lets us play, and love, and just be. 

It reminds us what it means to really live.

How do you, and how can you, show up for your inner child?