cold stretches its arms
throughout the spaces
of my home
I wrap myself up
and tap the heat
warmth caresses every
inch of our space
we calm our shivers–
talk the shakes
down from ledges
frozen toes and fingers
wiggle in excitment
happy to thaw,
eager to feel something
again
*A lune (rhymes with moon) is a very short poem. It has only three lines. It is similar to a haiku. A haiku has three lines, and it follows a 5/7/5 syllable pattern. The lune’s syllable pattern is 5/3/5. Since the middle line is limited to three syllables, it is often the shortest line of the three. This makes a lune curve a bit like a crescent moon.
For the next five days, except Saturdays and Sundays, I will share a lune with each of you. This is Lune #21 of this project.
Our psyche, with its vast inner-workings, is crucial to maintain. The childlike layer of the human soul, mind, or spirit is categorized as the inner-child. I joke with people who connect with me for the first time — “I am a big kid.” This is what I share openly. Although in most cases, it’s meant to break the ice, there is much truth to this phrase.
I build bonds, strengthen love, and laugh loudly with and around children. I am at peace in their presence. Not only do I find fun and productive things for them to do, but I also enjoy most of what they enjoy too. Watching cartoons or animated films, coloring or finger-painting, and playing at the park, just to name a few.
As adults, it can be easy to lose ourselves in the bowels of adulthood and forget how happy we can be experiencing a few things that children often do. We sometimes tend to believe that our personal worlds will crash if we take a moment to lose ourselves within our younger selves. How else are we going to stay youthful if we forget how to live fully?
Seline Shenoy offers “5 Ways To Keep Your Inner Child Alive” by listing and going into detail about the five things she believes will keep you young at heart.
Creative pursuits and hobbies: Children thrive on creativity and find immense joy in expressing themselves. They just grab those crayons, paint brushes or Play-Doh and let their artistry unleash. Without the worries of being judged.
Treat yourself to nostalgia: Have you ever listened to a song on the radio that instantly took you back to a certain phase in your life? You can experience these pleasurable sensations of nostalgia by creating opportunities to remember or relive the things that you loved as a child.
Laughter, music, and dance: As we grow older, we lose our spontaneity and our ability to have a good time because we’re so worried about what people might think. I believe that we can regain our spontaneity by enjoying three universal pleasures of life – laughter, music and dance.
Schedule playtime with children: When you immerse yourself in an environment with children, you’ll notice that you take on a more bouncy and playful persona.
Go off on adventures: We can break the monotony of our routines by bringing back that enthusiasm for adventures. While it would be great to travel to exotic destinations such as Paris or Bali, we can create miniature adventures in our own backyards.
I agree with her viewpoint and the five ways to keep your inner child alive. I believe we owe it to our aging minds and bodies to try to find and keep the good parts of us thriving. When I tap into my inner child, I have happier days, I sleep harder and longer, and I feel an encapsulating sense of peace at the end of those days.
When I spend time with my younger cousins, I glow. It is often hard to tear the smile away from my face whenever they are around. I entertain them by joining them in their imaginary games, I give piggy-back rides, we play choo-choo train, and take walks up and down their neighborhood, or we visit the park. With them, I succeed in completing all five things Seline Shenoy mentions above. They are keeping me young and young at heart.
The fact is that the majority of so-called adults are not truly adults at all. We all get older. Anyone, with a little luck, can do that. But, psychologically speaking, this is not adulthood. True adulthood hinges on acknowledging, accepting, and taking responsibility for loving and parenting one’s own inner child. For most adults, this never happens. Instead, their inner child has been denied, neglected, disparaged, abandoned or rejected. — Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D.
It is important to protect and take care of our inner child. The very parts of us that give us pure joy and elation and allows us to be free without second-guessing ourselves as children often do are the same parts of us that hold on to childhood trauma. Balancing how we cater to our innermost fears and succumbing to maturity in adulthood can save us a lot of pain and sorrow.
If we silence the inner child or suppress it, we could find ourselves struggling even more in adulthood. It is okay to embrace your quirky sense of humor. Go on and tell a few appropriate yet funny jokes. Are you thinking about enjoying a ride on the bumper cars or circling around on a Ferris wheel at a State Fair or theme park? Sure, do it! Let your inner child run free. Give yourself the freedom to dance openly outside while the sun kisses your skin. Your inner child will thank you.
Balancing how we cater to our innermost fears and succumbing to maturity in adulthood can save us a lot of pain and sorrow.
For many, it is not an adult self directing their lives, but rather an emotionally wounded inner child inhabiting an adult body. A five-year-old running around in a forty-year-old frame. — Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D.
The above is what we want to and should avoid in our adulthood. I have been blessed to always have little ones around to keep me focused on just how joyful one can be even with the pitfalls waiting for me to lose my balance. I am also aware of when seriousness is necessary and childlike behavior is not. Knowing when to give your inner child attention and allow your psyche the ability to let loose depends on the person.
We are all different and we have ways we think work for us, however, if we drown this part of our psyche, conforming to what society believes an adult should be, we could lose it forever.
I will strive to keep my inner child happy and my youthful spirit alive. I have seen the positive results from being a “big kid” and balancing my adult duties too. I think I may go outside and hula hoop or jump rope.
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At the invitation of Sherry Kappel, I traveled a stone’s throw away from my city to the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina. The purpose? To meet up with Sherry in order to experience the Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. I had never been to this museum before. Firsts are nerve-wreckers for me. I knew I’d be around quite a bit of people, perhaps in close proximity to them as well and I tried my best to subdue any anxiety that was drumming up.
Add to this the fact that I would also be meeting the young ones Sherry was hosting from Brazil and I had to talk myself down from becoming a bag of nerves and worry. I cannot be anyone but myself and oftentimes, I worry how I will be perceived.
It was evident moments after meeting the young ones — I had no need to worry or fret. I was met with big smiles and delightful personalities and I was instantly reminded of just how glorious it is (sometimes) to meet new people.
The North Carolina Museum of Art, from what I could cram into my scope with the amount of time allotted, is vast, with structural art pieces perfectly placed on its grounds. To be one of the many people attending this popular exhibition blew my mind. I was going to experience Frida . . . This was huge!
Kahlo’s work is deeply personal, often depicting her own dreams, painful personal experiences, and affinity with Mexican culture, while Rivera’s more public art portrays everyday people swept up in industrial and cultural revolution. — NCMA
I cannot be anyone but myself and oftentimes, I worry how I will be perceived.
Taking in my surroundings, I gave myself a silent pep talk and a pat on the back. The experience would be a remarkable one. And it was.
The layout of the area for the exhibition did not seem overwhelmingly large but big enough for us to wind around several times, getting lost in the indescribable creativity set before us. This was a bucket list event I did not know I wanted, but now, it can be scratched off. The exhibition begins with a few of Diego Rivera’s mural-styled vibrant pieces and some noted others but jumps into the eye-catching portraits of Frida Kahlo as well as many pictures of her and Diego taken by friends and family.
We all filed down the line pressing our eyes upon the many works before us, reading their descriptions, absorbing their intensity, and snapping photos to capture their beauty. Everyone came with their “inside voices” and their “listening ears.” It was as if each of us understood the importance of this first and how Frida Kahlo and her art demands our full attention.
Few artists have captured the public’s imagination with the force of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907–54) and her husband, the Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera (1886–1957). The myths that surrounded them in their lifetime arose not only from their significant bodies of work, but also from their friendships (and conflicts) with leading political figures and their passionate, tempestuous personal relationships. — NCMA
It was hard not to snap photos at every turn. I wanted to be able to have my own digital file to reflect upon how exceptional being in attendance for this was for me. Sure, I can rely on my memory to recall the visual displays, but I want to be able to view the details of the pieces I found astounding. And with these photos, I am able to do that for years to come.
The exhibition took about an hour and ten minutes to view. The girls were just as astounded as both Sherry and I and it was interesting to hear their thoughts and their excitement about an artist who lived and was of high caliber status before all of us. What was also evident is that we all seem to have in common great appreciation and love for her work. Not only did we enjoy this first together, but I also had the opportunity to have lunch with all of them. We traveled to a pub-style deli restaurant aptly named Village Deli & Grill not far from the museum.
There, I ordered the shrimp po’boy and sweet potato fries (which was delicious, by the way). While munching on our food, we fell into conversations with the young ones on how different their areas of Brazil are and how at their current view of the United States, the similarities and differences promptly jump out. I was listening to these two young ladies — both very strong-minded and outspoken, share their thoughts and the first thing that popped into my mind was, “I wonder if they write.” What they said and how they said it needed recording or documenting of some kind.
I also thought, “Yes, these are two of the people who will lead us into betterment.” It was a pleasure to watch them express themselves, yet allow one another the floor when necessary. Their cultural differences related to ours stood out and I had no choice but to take notice. I learned a lot during my time spent with them and it all began with an invite and Frida Kahlo. The connection I felt from one common interest is what I needed this past weekend. I am looking forward to many more firsts this year.
Originally published in P.S. I Love You via Medium.
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