I wonder if your Inner Child would accept an invitation to come out and play today?

On Saturday, my youngest son and his daughter ‘Facetimed’ me (I’m sure that’s a verb now!) While we were Facetiming, he did something without telling me. He popped some filters onto the feed, much to my 4 year old granddaughter’s delight… and much to mine too! A gorgeous cat appeared and then ‘played’ with us, putting its paws on our heads and then its tail up our noses, and then continued ‘Cat-bombing’ the call. When Penny joined us, she was delighted too.

The cat was followed by more filters - a Pug Dog, and a Unicorn – the latter having the power to shower us with glitter. I know for certain that my granddaughter’s favourite was the unicorn and the glitter. Penny and I are in our 60s. My granddaughter is 4. That’s more than a 55-year gap and yet we all accessed our ‘Inner Child’ and had fun together sharing the same pleasure. Of course, my granddaughter is a child, so that was easy for her.

Following the lovely video call, Penny and I went to Hobbycraft – an arts and crafts superstore – and a gateway to the world of imagination. I was so excited at being surrounded by so many possibilities to ‘play’. Art gives me permission to play.

Tonight (Sunday Night), I’ve filmed the Purbeck Village Quire – a specialist group that keeps West Gallery Music alive (think Thomas Hardy). What joy there was in their performance! Most of the Quire were mature in years too but I could see the child-like joy in their passion for history and what it meant to them all.

All this has got me thinking. We still have the capacity to access the child-like thrill in taking pleasure in what sparks our sense of fun or imagination. Sometimes we simply need a little nudge to remember to have fun. It may even be the secret to staying youthful.

Thus, I have two questions for you today. Firstly, would you let your inner child come out to play today? Secondly, what would that mean for you? What simple (or complex) pleasures would release joy?

Lex

A Moodscope member.