Many of us are very busy – busier than we’ve ever been. Sometimes, it’s difficult for us to maintain enthusiasm in our daily lives, let alone communicate that commitment and energy to others. So what do we do about it?
I once asked that question of my musical mentor, Uwe Kruger. He gave me some very relevant advice: “Don, think back to how you felt when you were very young…before you ever fell in love. Feed that child in you!”
This remarkably simple “how-to” around generating personal energy is undeniably powerful. I know: We’ve long been programmed to grow up and silence that child. Sound familiar? Does that pattern resonate with a story from your own childhood?
Do you remember J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Would Never Grow Up to Be a Man”? The Scottish playwright wrote the story of Peter Pan in 1904, but his creation is more relevant today than ever before. What’s more, there is now a time-technology paradox that seems to deaden the child in all of us. The paradox is that along with all the convenience that technology provides us comes endless distractions and a virtual anesthetic that may never wear off. Are we perhaps losing the child within? Uwe’s admonition to wake up and feed that child comes just in time.
When I think of the child within me, the first image I see – actually my first conscious memory – is of the three-year-old me, not a worry in the world, proudly marching alone down the center aisle of Hillcrest Church in Detroit, belting out a song at the top of my lungs. It was a mother and child talent show, and to this day, I can remember the event with unusual clarity.
When I think of the child in me, I also remember a friend’s father allowing us to play on a brand-new trampoline in grade school. But, he allowed it only if we would dig a hole in the backyard, some 6 feet by 12 feet and 4 feet deep, for the trampoline. He figured that when we took the inevitable falls, at least we’d start at ground level. What he hadn’t considered was the fact that he had us dig the hole, so we set the trampoline only 20 or 30 inches away from the garage! I remember the unrestrained glee with which we jumped off the garage roof onto the trampoline. Have you ever double-bounced someone on a trampoline? Have you ever double-bounced someone on a trampoline when coming down from 10 or 12 feet in the air? It’s a wonder the child in me actually survived!
When I recall these events, I’m feeding that child within. I also do it by regularly turning off all of the annoying auditory notifications on my phone, by removing as many apps as I can and by un-following people on social media networks who only post to provoke. My mantra? Unfollow, unclutter and unsubscribe. I safeguard that child within me by limiting and carefully selecting the messages I expose him to.
What does the child within you have to say? What does he or she warmly recall from your early days? What is that first joyful memory that you still carry throughout your life? Recall it right now! That voice that responds within you is the voice to encourage, to feed and to listen to. Feed that child!
