Subject: Re: The spontanaiety of childhood
From: GlennT

I know I wasn't very happy as a child,but in alot of ways I think I
was alot more spontaneous...(probably not as much as most kids
were,but definatly 1000% percent more then now.when I was in high
school everyone noticed how I would think REALLY carefully before
speaking...)It seems to me that alot of adults(that I've
noticed)retain alot of that spontanaeity.I don't know when I lost that
feeling,but I wish I could get it back...when do children lose that
innocense?the excitement and enjoyment of simple pleasures?so much of
my childhood's a blur.I have a very,very weird,selective memory,but I
suppose everyone does to some extent...that's why I love to remember
the simple pleasures...eating a good meal,watching tv,playing miniture
golf,going swimming with my family,going to the movies...of cource I
can still do those things,but not with the kind of automatic pleasure
I had then...That's partly why I think it's a good idea to be
childlike as you get older(not childish,but childlike),to try to
recapture the innocense that was lost...

I agree. Being child-like is not a science it is a mindset. It is a
costume in a play with a script that you write as you go using
instinct as a guide. Having children doesn't help because children
have a habit of making you feel older rather than younger. Yet they
can be wonderful props in the play I am describing, if used
appropriately.

However, losing spontaneity is like losing your hair and getting
wrinkles. There will always be a drop off as we get older. Comfort
becomes more attractive than challenge and risks become too
identifiable to be ignored. This is natural and not something to be
mourned. For to mourn the loss of spontaneity is only to make the
situation worse than it is and to be child-like is a key to living
joyously rather than a cure for ageing.

GlennT