I started rereading The Chronicles of Narnia last night. Many of you know of my affinity for the work of C.S. Lewis, and his fantasy classic is no exception. Yes, it’s a series of “children’s books”, but it’s also is a great reminder that we were all once children, and in many ways still are. Yes, life happens - relationships, work, children, etc. - but the child within us never really dies. I’d argue that keeping that child alive and well is perhaps the most important thing we can do in life. Hefty claim, I know, but what was that thing that Jesus guy said?
Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I’m one to believe the kingdom of heaven doesn’t have to be a place far away (fundamentalists’ gasp!). It can be right here, right now. We just have to remember what we are and where we come from, and children are the greatest reminders of this. We grow up and form attachments to things and desires - money, fame, sex, security - and so easily forget the joy, innocence and play of childhood. Life becomes so serious. I understand that with adulthood comes responsibility, and a seriousness towards our needs and the needs of our family is necessary, but it doesn’t have to consume us. The most beautiful part of growing up is the dance between freedom and responsibility, and dance we should! When was the last time you ran naked in a field singing your favorite song without a care in the world? Better question, have you ever done that? Does the idea of doing that sound insane to you? Notice the barriers that come up in your mind - where do those come from?
Life is undoubtedly hard. So many of us struggle each day just to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. I’ve been there at multiple points in my life, so I know what it feels like. When we’re living in survival mode, it’s hard to justify the concept of “purposeless” fun; however, I’d argue it’s the exact thing we need when life gets the most difficult. As humans we’re social creatures, and so much of our interactions are an exchange of energy. Would you rather spend time with someone who made you feel like life was hard, painful and joyless, or someone who brought out the kid in you, who made you feel young again, who made you laugh? The answer is pretty clear to me. The more we get in touch with our own playfulness and innocence, the more we can share it with everyone else. From there, good things tend to happen.
I think that’s why I love C.S. Lewis’ writing so much. He always kept the child within him alive, and it shines through his work. He wrote every word with an innocence and joy that I have never seen replicated by any author, and he lived what he preached - through years of solitude, through finding incredible love later in his life, through tragically losing that love. The difficulties of life hit him as hard as anyone else, yet he remained happy. He remained grateful. He continued to laugh and find joy in the smallest, strangest things. That is about all I can ask for in my own life. I’ll let Mr. Lewis explain more, he does it much better than I can:
“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
That sums it up right there. Today, I implore you to think about what you loved to do as a child. Maybe it was dancing, maybe it was singing, maybe it was eating bugs! The point is, it doesn’t matter what it was, as long as it was you. Remember what it felt like to be alive, the joy of each day, the carelessness and freedom. You can bring all of that into your life today - the only one preventing you from doing so is you. Go outside and breathe. Remember how lucky you are to be alive, and how you have defied astronomical odds to get where you are today. Most importantly, smile, you silly goose.