one of two things happened. You ran with your ideas because you didn’t know any better and you shined … or your ideas flickered and died because you kept your mouth shut. And that was the end of that. Before long, you were “educated,” as in “processed.”
Where are those thoughts now? Whatever became of them? What do you wish you’d done with them?
“You just open yourself up to become like a child. All of a sudden, the world is a wide-eyed experience again. You start feeling again, and you see the world through the eyes of a five-year-old. Once you get rid of preconceived notions, ideas can start to cross-pollinate.”
– Eric Schulz, Buena Vista Home Video, the Walt Disney Company
Once, when my eldest, Kristyn, was small, she decided she would grow up to be an artist. The day before that, she was going to be a nurse. The day before that, she was going to be a ninja. Today she’s studying engineering at Smith College and still dreaming. Last fall she wanted to solve the world’s environmental challenges. This summer she wants to be a patent lawyer helping independent inventors.
To her, everything was possible—and happily, still is. It may not be the most practical point of view, but it beats being a Real World Adult.
The Power of Simple Things
Step outside yourself. Are you the person you wanted to become? If not now, when will you get back on track?
1. One of the great powers a child has is the ability to find joy in small, simple things. As adults, we have a love of complexity. To recapture that wonder of small, simple things, spend a day with a child. If you don’t have a child of your own, borrow one: a child between the ages of four and seven, maybe a niece or a nephew, a neighbor’s kids, or your grandchildren. You want a child with no grown-up tendencies whatsoever.
Go for a walk, take a ride, share a Special Day with a child. Special Days are big occasions at my house. On Special Days, the kid is boss. The kid decides what to do and where to go.
Be forewarned that you run a risk here. You risk floating a paper boat on a pond at the park, building a kite from scratch or maybe heading off to a second-hand thrift store and buying a bunch of dress-up clothes. You run the risk of lying on your back in a grassy meadow and imagining faces and horses galloping in the clouds overhead.
Whatever your child does, you do it, too. Don’t just stand there like a bump on a kosher dill. Ask your child lots of questions. Find out everything you can about your child. Don’t be afraid to ask silly questions. Have some laughs.
2. Read a book to a child. Find a book with no connection with reality, like one by the late Dr. Seuss, arguably one of the great creative minds of our time. His characters and stories will live forever because they aren’t like anything anywhere anyhow.
Grab your coat, run to the library or nearest bookstore and pick up a pile of Dr. Seuss’ greatest works. Here are a few suggestions. Note: these are also ideal books for your personal creativity library.
• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? The old man in the Desert of Drize shows us how good we really have it.
• Oh, the Places You’ll Go! The world is a big place, filled with colors, shapes and possibilities. It’s dangerous and scary, but you’ll succeed if you only get going.
• The Sneetches and Other Stories This collection of stories exposes the silliness of prejudice and stubbornness and equips you to battle your fears.
• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! The doctor prescribes methods for stretching the imagination, a la “Oh, the THINKS you can think up if only you try!”
• The Lorax An environmentally-conscious fable of high drama about the Oncle-ler and the damage he did to the Truffula Trees for the sake of his lousy Thneeds.
3. Another way to recapture innocence is to kick loose from your day-to-day modus operandi. Take a mental vacation, even if for only five minutes.
Sure you could hook yourself up to a biofeedback machine or go floating in a sensory-deprivation tank, but there are plenty of simpler, less expensive ways to kick loose, many of which are available at your local toy store.
Here are some of my favorite prescriptions for restoring the spirit and innocence of your once childlike mindset.
• Get outside: Take a hike, go for a bike ride, or take a flying leap into the nearest lake—feel the group hug of Mother Nature in the great outdoors.
• Look closely: Get out your digital camera and take 100 pictures of your backyard. Look at the grass, the fence, and the dog doo through new eyes.
• Make music: Get out your old trumpet, tuba, or fluegelhorn and reprise your high school fight song. At campfires, pull out a bandolier loaded with harmonicas, even if you can’t play a lick. Take your tom-tom and beat it. Better yet, get some friends together and do your own version of a Stomp performance (for hints and inspiration, visit http://www.stomponline.com.)
• Stretch yourself: Buy a cookbook and force yourself to create dinner from scratch. Go to the local hobby store and buy a kit for making stained glass, painting, soap, candles, or whatever interests you.
As noted, most of these activities have some degree of risk, at least initially—there’s a chance you’ll feel a tad bit silly. Don’t worry. It’s just the Real World Adult in you rebelling.
Fight back. Seize control of your imagination. You can do it. After a while, you won’t feel silly at all. You’ll be on your way to the best of both worlds.
“There is too much sadness to hold your mouth down. When I see people like that, they hold their lip just so, and I go up to them and just say, ‘Boo!’ People today are in a rut. They’re afraid to think.”
– Hazel Louise Emerson Hall (my Grandmother)
To reconnect with innocence, ponder this essential Eureka! truth:
To thine own self, be the true you.
It’s your call. It’s your life, too. Totally and irrevocably.
MUSIC BONUS: The link below takes you to a Web page that with a song called “The Problem with Grownups” written and performed by Scott Johnson of Google Press. It captures in lyrics and music the essence of this chapter.
The Web page also has links to two Brain Brew radio segments that David and I did where we had middle school students answer the question: The problem with grown ups is…
Visit http://www.doughall.com/JSYB2
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ADVENTUROUSNESS
Adventure drives the creative engine. Adventure awakens the imagination, fires the adrenalin, and ignites a willingness to try.
The spirit of adventure makes it possible for you to move forward, to take that leap of faith. Without it, life registers on an oscilloscope as a flat, horizontal line. Nothing adventured, nothing gained.
Adventures happen on
