Let’s start at the very beginning

Think back to your childhood for a moment, what was important to you before you grew up? Long before the stresses and fears of becoming a teenager started to creep in and the joys of innocence slipped away?

I want you to think of a happy childhood memory, anything that comes to mind. It doesn’t need to be anything big or momentous, merely a pleasant memory between the age of 5–10. Maybe it is a memory of playing in the school playground, maybe a summer holiday springs to mind, playing with a friend, digging around in the dirt for worms… whatever it is, I want you to close your eyes and be back in that moment. Focus on any sights, sounds or smells that might be attached to the memory. Any feelings inside the body that might be attached to that specific moment in time. Take your time and let yourself simply ‘be’ in that moment for as long as you need, being sure to focus on any feelings or emotions that come with it.

How was that for you? How easy was it to return to that point in time and connect with the simple pleasures of childhood? Maybe it was difficult for some of you to find a specific moment or memory, for some it can be hard to visualise particulars. It doesn’t matter, we are all different and what is important is to learn what works for you.

So what came up for you whilst doing that? Did you get a sense of the feelings or emotions connected to that moment? What was important to that child in that instant? I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the child wasn’t thinking about the future, that they weren’t feeling stressed about what they were wearing or how they looked, that they were probably just living in that moment, enjoying whatever little task they were getting on with.

Now ask yourself this question:

What was important to that child in that moment?

Children are creative, playful, resourceful. Children have wild imaginations, they can make new worlds with pillows and empty boxes. At what point did we lose that ability to make the most incredible fun out of nothing? Wouldn’t it be great if we could get back to that? Get back to living in the present, without needing to know what is coming next? Completely content sitting with ourselves and a crayon and paper or an inanimate doll, knowing our likes and dislikes, not embarrassed, not ashamed. Just being.

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The above is an excerpt from chapter one of the LSW London E-Book ‘Getting to Know You’ available to purchase for only £4.95 here: https://lswmindcards.com/products/getting-to-know-you