It turns out that my brain really likes thinking about itself. My brain is as self-centered as I am. So these brain posts might just go on for a little while… sorry…
I read a post by a friend of mine: Twindaddy over at http://stuphblog.wordpress.com/ did a post about how kids find joy in the simplest things. Now I have done posts about the same subject. But his was adorable and worth checking out. I left the following comment on his post:
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Why do we lose the magic of seeing the pure awesomeness in everyday things as we get older? When do flowers and dolphins just become flowers and dolphins? When do Halloween and Christmas just become holidays? When do friends just become people we know better than other people? When does the idea of getting dirty or covered with paint seem like a bad thing? When does smearing birthday cake all over ourselves suddenly seem like a bad idea? When do butterflies turn into flying insects? When does taking a bath seem like a chore? When does running around then house naked start to seem like a crazy idea???
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And that got me think about maturity and growing up. Oh sure, they make it sound like a good thing. But aren’t we really just training our brains to look at things the way society wants us to? Because it makes us easier to deal with? We go to school for years and they tell us it is to learn things. And we do. Unfortunately, a lot of what we learn is just conformity. Sit still. Stop acting crazy. Listen when the teacher is talking. They aren’t just teaching us stuff… they are teaching us how to think about stuff… like we should all do it the same way.
Is that a good thing? So many of the things we value most… art and creativity and inventiveness and philosophy… require us to think differently than everyone else. How are we supposed to come up with anything original if we think like everyone else???
Now don’t get me wrong. I can see how the world would be dangerous to live in if we all behaved like three-year-olds. But would it be so bad if they left a little of that kind of thinking inside our heads so we could draw upon it when we wanted to?
Take out your inner child, dust it off, and follow it around for a few days. Play games with it. Let it lead you places and show you things. Give it some watercolor paints and brushes and paper and let it go wild. Let it fill the tub with bubbles and rubber ducks if that is what it wants to do. Let it roll down a grass-covered slope or chase bubble across a field. Let it run around the house naked.
Your inner child has been in time out for long enough.
Pouring My Art Out 
In fact I will do a post on this soon.
I just see the word ‘brains’… what was it about?
Dusting off your inner child 🙂
Oh yeah… I love it when I manage to write something that makes people think…
I am trying to do this more.
Ha… I already forgot what that post was about…
Interesting point. We’ve trained ourselves to assume people doing those childlike things you list are crazies. Maybe they have the right idea. You remember when WP told you off and I got a tongue lashing/keyboard lashing from them about not being grown up….give me abreak – see you on the bus to Neverland
I bet you look awesome in tights!!!
I’ve never tried…I was a t a loose end tonight. problem solved!
Oh man… you kill me…
Interestingly on the heels of my Peter Pan (Hook) mail he never saw. I was thinking just this morning how it was to be a kid and so much in awe of everything. I miss that. Perhaps I just quit noticing those things when I got busy paying attention to the necessaries of grown-up life. Peter Pan’s flight is my favorite retro kid ride at Disney World, but don’t tell anybody..
Have you read my post about that trip to Sea World with my daughter’s preschool class? I will never stop being a kid.
Tell me where to look for it. Must have missed it or came too late.
I don’t remember what it was called…
As a great man once said, “sigh.”
That guy is great, isn’t he?
Yeah,…he is. Just ask around.
Oh, I don’t need to.
Yes Sir! (…to the last paragraph and a bit)
Hey… no picking which parts of these things make sense. What if everybody starts doing that?
Oh, it all made sense. I like it when you tell me what to do… which is what the last paragraph and a bit was about 🙂
I make suggestions… I don’t give orders.
That’s even better…. 🙂
I try to be reasonable.
Careful… you’re starting to turn into a role model for a husband! ha!
yeah… in some ways…
Somehow i get the impression your inner child never grew up!
I know you are, but what am I?
I am rubber, you are glue. What you say bounces off me & sticks to you! Nananananana!
Sorry, what? I have my fingers in my ears and I am singing Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalal…
Fingers in your ears? Humming to yourself? Beware the men in the white coats!
Oh, those guys love me… they gave me my own room… so soft…
Honestly, my inner three year old is only rarely restrained.
That may be why I find you so damn appealing.
I think it’s awesome when I don’t get the cake smeared all over me. And I still very much enjoy that.
Sure, if you are going to pick one small part of this whole thing and look closely at it, it wont make any sense at all… or if you read the whole thing and really think about it, it might seem a little crazy… what was your point exactly?
Part 2 already! I’d better stop blinking. I’m really enjoying this other side of you. You know I like zany Art to and enjoy coming out and playing with him and his buds, but this Art is special to me too. I experience this as a more deeply creative art by Art. The crack squirrels get off the wheel and take a nap and you slow down and dig deeper, and then we all do. NIce balance. I think we are all getting to know one another better too. This is basically a good community. If we can just keep the weirdo’s out. Well, except for me, and Trent, and Hotspur, and addercat, and hiddinsight, and you, and…,never mind. And FYI. I clean house in the nude. Knock before entering…or not. It’s a start. Too itchy to mow the grass that way.
I never do anything naked that involves sharp moving metal blades…
Maybe you could find a new way to dust then…!
Knock knock…
Who’s there?
Your brain.
My brain on drugs?
Awwww…you knew the punch-line! No fair!
It was just a tad obvious…
Not her. And it had been so peaceful up until now.
Let’s try to keep it that way… ha!
Moi? Surely not moi?
As the French cow said… mooi?
Touchè. I know. How did I get the grave accent “è”? Place the cursor at the spot on the screen and Key alt+138. The minute you let up on the “8” key, bingo; it’s there. Thus: è
sigh…
Doesn’t she mean “Canuck Canuck…” I kill me.
Not fast enough for some people… ha! I kill me too.
“Some people” had just better settle in and get prepare for the long wait. My business is to live out of spite and business is good.
Spite is a dish best served hot with a side of relish…
Relish. Very good. Nice touch.
Thanks… always use a condiment…
I’ll finish reading after I’m done finger painting! lol
pst
lol
I refuse to even look at those three letters.
which ones? lol
yes… those… the evil ones… the ones that look like a little man screaming with his hands pressed to the sides of his face… ooohhh… post idea…
look a squirrel
too late
why doesn’t that surprise me..
Yeah… usually everything does…
go look at my new post…
This is great! I like to draw upon the movie Big for inspiration. Tom Hanks is a 13 year old in an adults world who basically conquers everything just by being playingful and a little naive.
Thanks. I don’t need to draw upon that for inspiration because I am already living it… sigh…