Glimmers and a Childlike Superpower
What we can learn from youthful giddiness
As a toddler, I could look at an unwrapped present with a giggle, smile dimples, and joy-crinkled eyes. I didn’t need to know what was inside. I just knew that something meant for me was waiting past the tape. I lost that ability somewhere along the line. Don’t most of us?
How sad it is to lose a fearless excitement so soon — or ever.
This youthful giddiness seems to fade out of us early on. Life has a way of stifling us as we grow up. And we let it. We grow fearful of the unknown and grasp for control of our futures. We calculate every outcome that we can. Then, when none of those options happen or don’t go exactly as expected, we become afraid of a path we didn’t plan for. After all, we know there are always challenges ahead, don’t we?
Cheryl Strayed says in Tiny Beautiful Things, “The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in a life. … Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will.” I think this is something we do, but not completely. The terrible things weigh more, so we notice them more. Which means we often let the terrible things nurture us too deeply for too long. We tend to get stuck there.
But what about the beautiful and interesting things that are just as present? What about our glimmers, wins, and contentment? They should nurture us too. We should learn about ourselves not only through how we handle pain but also how we handle happiness. We can rebuild our childlike superpower by discovering what ignites passion, fosters peace, and welcomes laughter.
It can feel uneasy to acknowledge the good stuff. There’s so much pain in our hearts, our lives, our communities, and our world. It can feel wrong to give energy to the good, when the bad needs attention. However, showing up for the bad when you’re run down from it, means you cannot give your best to the issues that you want to. Giving yourself time to rest in the good, allows you to show up effectively for the hard things. It means learning what your good things are and what they say about who you are meant to be.
My theory is that the more we grow within glimmers instead of only agony, the more likely we are to find our truest place in the world. The heavy side of life teaches us crucial lessons about ourselves, but so does the lighter side. When we allow space for both (especially the good), we give ourselves permission to become courageous and eager again. When we remember to let the good in too, we become less fearful and more enthusiastic about what’s up ahead.
So, may we all approach life like a toddler, with pure excitement looking at the unknown. There’s something meant for us waiting past the tape.
SELF-PORTRAIT (After Ashton Jordan; Published in Far From Broken) I've been trying to find her again the girl in the photos The one who loved cool mornings and swing sets who caught fireflies used the world as her jungle gym and laughed easily Her hands got cinched between the office and suburbs forgetting she never cared about her paycheck just that she traced the nape of Love's neck with flower fingers then snatched her notebook from her purse when the poem appeared Her feet evaporated in the depressed heat then floated through an unfamiliar life of perceived permanence She forgot she never cared where she was going just that she would dance on the trails splash in the lake water on days she need regrounding then let Love join in her joy I've been finding her again the girl in the photos She was hiding in skyline corners and stage curtains waiting for me to remember she was never meant for normality waiting for me to make the decision she knew I was ignoring waiting for me to skip back to the mic with a full heart I’ve found her again the girl in the photos The one who is admiring fireflies again who has rediscovered swing sets and is ready to welcome Love when they show themself again
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