Inner Child Part 2

Yesterday morning I wrote about keeping our inner children, specifically our physical inner child, as young as possible as we get older. We do this so we can experience as much of the world as possible with as few aches and pains as possible. It allows us to play with our children and grandchildren for more years as we age and it inevitably, if we really take care of ourselves, slows down the aging process. But what about our minds? We must strive to keep our minds much like that of a child; open, curious, un-prejudiced, free. This isn’t to say we should make decisions like a child does, whimsical and without regard for any consequences. Rather, we should seek to be sponges, to soak up as much knowledge and wisdom as we can. We should seek to understand that which is a mystery to us, to delve deep and get our hands dirty, to find the answers that aren’t easy. This is how we keep our mind strong, by never settling for the status quo, always questioning things, and continually talking to new people. We can never hope to know everything in the world, but the more we know, the better prepared we could be for those surprises that life likes to throw our way.

As for myself, I have always been an avid reader, from the time I was a little kid to now, I love to have my nose in a book; reading and expanding my knowledge base. Why, because I can never know enough. I always want to more. But its not just about books, for books can only teach us so much. Its also about experiencing life, taking the knowledge that we get in books and putting it to practical use. Whether it is reading about carpentry or electrical work to learning about philosophy and how to improve ourselves, knowledge is only useful if we actually utilize it at some point. Part of learning also involves talking to people, asking questions, exploring why they feel a certain way or why they did a certain thing or figuring out where they grew up and what they do for work. Just yesterday I went in to see my chiropractor for an adjustment. As I was walking by his office door, I asked a standard question for me, “How are you?” He said, “ok” when normally it is a much more positive response. Some people would just keep on walking, but I followed up with, “Why, what’s up?” That led us into a conversation about what he is currently dealing with, how it is making him feel, and how he is progressing with his injury. I love asking questions and finding out about people. It not only informs me about them, but it helps me understand more of the human condition, what people go through and how they handle it, looking at the way they carry themselves and how they make their way through life. That kind of knowledge is to me just as valuable as any knowledge you can get from a book. By understanding other people, we can better understand ourselves, and by better understanding ourselves, improve our own lives.

Keeping an open mind, one that is like a child, gets more and more difficult as we get older. Biases creep in, we get rigid in our beliefs, we begin to take things at face value without questioning them, and it can get harder to build empathy and understand where others are coming from. I am a firm believer that we should never stop learning and also never think that we know everything. As a contractor, painting houses for 20+ years now, I can pretend to know everything. I have gotten very good at painting, but I will never know everything. If anyone asks, I’ll say I have a good base of knowledge, but I will be the first to admit that I don’t know it all. I also seek to learn new things that I can apply at work that makes me more efficient and improves the quality of my work. I listen when others suggest something I haven’t tried before. I look for new products and ask advice from the hardware store owners who find out about new products and hear what other contractors are saying about them. This constant questioning helps me stay on top of my game and in turn provide a better quality job for my customers.

At the end of the day, if we keep our mind spry and agile like a child’s, we will stave off degeneration and stagnation within ourselves. Read more books, do crosswords, assemble puzzles, go for a walk, start a hobby, keep your mind young. A young mind is a beautiful thing and there is nothing saying that we can’t change our mind for the better at any point. Neuroplasticity, where our brain re-wires itself, constantly happens into our older days. It may not happen as quickly as we get older, but if we don’t relent and never stop learning, we can hold it for a little longer. So here is to our inner child, may we keep yearning for more, may we be always willing to explore the unknown, and let us allow ourselves to find beauty around us, just like a child does every day.