Here’s the rain again, tapping at the windows, drumming on the roof. Are you picking up the vibes of inner peace?
You get to imagine meaning, even from the weather. In the realm of imagination, everything is up to you. Next time, when you hear the sound of rain at the window, why not go outside and play? Slip on a raincoat. Step into rain boots. Leave the umbrella behind.
Offer up cheeks, chin, and eyelashes to the wash of raindrops. Find puddles outside. And invite your happy-go-lucky, free-spirited child out from the shadows. Ask your little kid out with delight. Let jumping and splashing through puddles be fun. Bringing to mind a gleeful feeling jump-starts the motion. Ready to try being childlike again?
Here are eighteen child-like things grown adults can do daily to find peace in a world on fire:
1. Find the silly in everything and laugh
There is therapy in laughter, with research from 2016 stating it can help you destress.
2. Wish upon a star
FURKAN GÜNEŞ / Pexels
3. Try moonlight bathing
4. Get a teddy bear friend
5. Daydream & contemplate
6. Practice magic tricks
7. Make up a game or make a crossword puzzle
8. Color inside the lines
Coloring might seem juvenile, but it’s been shown to reduce anxiety levels in adults. Adult coloring books are a great option.
9. Pick a flower
10. Find a seashell
Anthony / Pexels
11. Start a piggy bank
12. Lick an ice cream cone
13. Buy a roll of drawing paper & doodle draw to your heart’s content
14. Make a treasure box then fill it slowly and mindfully
15. Paint your face
16. Practice focusing on your heart’s desire to make your wish come true
17. Cast a spell or chant
18. Create a play space where you live
Children haven’t learned all the labels and haven’t heard all the explanations. They bring childlike curiosity to almost everything. Imagination rules! Give yourself access to yours again.
Building inner peace can be one wonderful reward, but there are no limits to the power of exercising your imagination and curiosity, or childlike sense of wonder, every day. Along the way, you should rediscover your ability to tap into your magnificent and unique power.
Ready to let your “pretending self” out? Tell yourself a story. Write it down. Arm yourself with paint, charcoal, pastels, colored pens, glue sticks, drawing pads, notebooks, and all manner of sparkly, shiny, and not-so-shiny objects of creative expression.
Go ahead and create. Post up your creations and please keep the well-intentioned commenters out. There isn’t room for judgment here. Post a sign. “No comments please!” “What about compliments?” they will ask. Tell them “No.”
Think about it. Where is your child artist hiding? Where is your little singing, dancing, twirling, giggling, music-making, silly, obstreperous self hanging out today? Did the judgments of the past send you scurrying?
Think back to childhood — and relive those sweet moments. Didn’t you build forts with blankets and big old cardboard boxes? Didn’t you make hand puppets on the wall with shadows?
Did you invite imaginary friends in for tea? Insecurities be gone! Shine the light instead, on your childlike curiosity. What will you do today? Will you search out a bouquet of moss-covered twigs, bits of vine, leaves, buds, and blooms?
Be curious always. Don’t be afraid to let your imagination run wild and free — It’s your birthright.
Can’t afford the time you say? Maybe you can’t afford to not make time to let your curious childlike wander free.
How much is it worth to you to build inner peace? Feel the peace in every part of your brain: the brain in your head, the brain in your gut, and the brain in your heart.
Dr. Liz Zed, Ph.D., MCC, RCC & is a Lifestyle Design & Spiritual Coach who helps clients connect with their intuitive inner wisdom to unlock inner guidance. She is the author of Family Business Blueprint and creator of the Master Coach System.
