Today I was walking Uptown on a gorgeous June afternoon, and as I crossed the street I watched a mother leading her young daughter of 5 or 6 by the hand along the crosswalk. The girl was dressed all in pink, with a matching Hello Kitty backpack and a huge pink stuffed animal.
It was then that I wondered again: Why do we buy into the lie that we have to grow up? At which point exactly do we start learning to buy into societal norms of what is acceptable and expected of us? To put it another way: When exactly did we give up on magic?
You see, I long for the day, I yearn for the day when I grow old enough not to be wise or learn-ed or to have it all figured out, but rather for the day when I once again learn to laugh and cry and respond to the very simplest things in life. I am growing back to the time when I dreamed, and when dreams weren't thought of as silly or unreal or something to grow out of. Dreams were what we had, magic is what meant to us and our hearts delighted in it. If it is foolishness, I stand up. If it is foolishness I stand up and I raise my hand, pointing my finger to the sky and saying "ME! ME! ME! Pick ME!"
If we do not chase our passions, if we do not dream our dreams, if we settle, then a part of us will keep dying inside and we will never be satisfied. What is your word? What is your passion? What would you do right now if all of those expectations of behaviour were scattered across the sea like ashes? Where would you go? What would you do? What career would you pursue? Who would you sing a love song to at one in the morning while you froze outside their window?
Do not give up. You and I are not who we bought into. The dreams may have been fading and flickering quietly within for many many years now, but now is the time. Now is the time for more. Don't settle. Let's start today.
When exactly did we give up on magic? It is never ever too late to start again. Let's grow young again.
3 comments:
great post mark, and so true! thanx! glenn
Agreed! This was great, and much needed. Many thanks to you!
-Alex
"Never give up! Never surrender!" I have never given up on magic. Hence I periodically make a fool of myself in public, much to my glee. Great post.
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