Child-Soul

Friends,

The warm days of summer make it possible for children to enjoy the freedom of being outside, and I love to hear their voices, whether it’s with backyard friends, at the beach, or just enjoying the longer days themselves.  Groups of children often create a hum of banter and chatter as they play games or work on projects.. I think I hear a sweet confidence in those children’s voices, They have their own ideas about what’s-what, and they are quite vocal in expressing it. So the conversations among children seem to be a free-flowing negotiations and lovely creative ideas as they engage in whatever situation has captured their attention. I guess that’s what I enjoy so much as I listen and try to imagine the freedom of their often continuous "what-if” chain of imagination and creative exploration that I will name “child soul.” 

Ah, but alas, of course, those childhood days meld into mindsets that are more likely to focus on planning, problem solving and organization. Older children and teens are busy planning their days and their assignments and meetings with friends. There is likely less time for spontaneous thoughts and reflections, especially to enjoy the the heart’s invitation to be outside. When I was young I lived about a mile from school, and those 15 minute mostly solitary walks were some of the most precious times of my day. My guess many of you had similar childhood opportunities for alone time or in close fellowship.  

And as adults our hearts and souls also need the a child-like, free floating solace of time alone, preferably outside, weather permitting. Some of you may have heard the term “forest bathing,” a type of personal therapy coined by the Japanese, in which you not only walk in the woods, but you allow your focus to be on the magnificence of the trees around you. What might they represent, or say, to you? What of their resilience and stability commend themselves to you? Someone once told me that trees teach patience, for example. I now try to remember to pause and just look up when I take my walks, and I commend that practice to you as well, if you do not already follow it. 

And being in some form of liberated immersion in thought, either alone or in casual, familiar time of sharing with a good friend, may be the closest we can come to experience the freedom and exuberance of child-soul. The goal would be to be free enough to fold into a a welcome medium that is beyond ourselves, perhaps experiencing, in those moments of solitude and close friendship, a  form of prayer and gratitude for the kind of joyful abandon we hear in the playful voices of children.

Enjoy these last weeks of summer. Listen for the children. And be bathed in the privilege of just being alive in such a glorious world in spite of our daily concerns.

Peace,
Tom