The other night at about 9:30pm, the smoke alarm in the common area hallway of our apartment building started going off. After careful investigation, us & our neighbors determined there was nothing cooking, no actual fire & that it was only one alarm going off (that clearly had no intention of quieting down). So I called the non-emergency number for our fire department and in comes freakin’ 3 police cars & a firetruck all with their lights on. At first, standing out front of my building in my pajamas, I was horrifyingly embarrassed because well, firefighters and nosey neighbors LOL.
But right then, as my mortification started to set in, I felt something else… it was my inner child FLIPPING OUT BECAUSE HOLY CRAP THAT’S AN UP CLOSE FIRETRUCK WITH ALL THE LIGHTS ON & FIREFIGHTERS IN FULL GETUP!!!! (Am I a 5 year old boy or a 25 year old girl?? idk.)
So I said f it. Who gives a shit what anyone thinks of me? I haven’t seen a firetruck up close since I literally was a child and considering there is no real emergency, I’ll just go ahead and inch my way towards it with a smile on my face so big I definitely looked like a 5 year old. It was so cool… SO. FREAKING. COOL.
And then a parade of like 6 firefighters came out of the building and stood right in front of us in their full gear and were so kind and clearly could tell I was vibrating from an excitement a 25 year old girl “should not be” vibrating from. I smiled about that all night – so hard my face hurt. My inner child literally thought that was the coolest thing ever.
I tell you this because I spent the rest of my night before going to bed, and the entire next day, as giddy as could be. I was in such a good mood, and was just generally excited and happy. & I can tell you for a fact, it’s because I let my inner child fully come up and experience the totality of that moment.
Sometimes, it really is the little things!
The ice cream truck came around the other day, and you better believe I FLUNG myself off the couch and to the window before literally sprinting to my purse & pulling out the few actual dollars I had in there lol. My inner child was legit screaming from excitement, because it has been waaaaay too long since I’ve gotten something from the ice cream truck!
I have an adult coloring book. I have a Disney YouTube playlist that I bump on the reg (queue “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas, “Strangers Like Me” from Tarzan, “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, and so many more). I still watch Disney movies, Scooby Doo, and old cartoons I loved as a kid. Sometimes, I decide to be a fairy, and dress in an outfit that makes me feel magical – then I go to the beautiful conservation area nearby that I call “The Enchanted Forest” and dance with all the other magical creatures… BECAUSE MY INNER CHILD LOVES EVERY SECOND OF ALL THIS.
Your inner child is and always will be a part of you – a part of your authentic self. For so many of us, this part of us gets neglected and pushed to the side because as adults, we can’t be perceived as “childish” right?! And good gosh, who even has the time for these things?!
Well, what if I told you that my inner child is the part of me that helps me feel the most joy in my life?
She is the part of me who sees the world so innocently, so purely, so magically. She is the expert at having fun and not having a worry in the world. She is me at every age during my childhood, and she has an endless supply of joy and love to give… and all she wants from me is my love, my acceptance, and the freedom to walk with me, side by side, hand in hand.
She is not only a teacher in joy and in love, but she is a teacher in healing. She has taught me to let things to go, but she has also shown me where some of today’s (limiting) beliefs and fears have come from. You see, she couldn’t yet process certain things that transpired throughout her childhood, so she stored them away, let them go from her conscious mind (where the unconscious took over), and went back to producing joy. So now, it is part of my job to allow the space for anything stored to come back up, so we can heal.
The relationship with yourself if the most important relationship you will ever have. Your inner child is a significant part of that relationship. Almost all of our beliefs were formed during childhood, and many of those are limiting beliefs that came from external sources, not from our own inner truth… but as a child, we were unable to decipher the difference and didn’t yet have the knowledge we begin to cultivate as we grow older. So our beliefs mushed with others’ beliefs and that is what runs our thoughts and actions today. This is why working with our inner child, and seeing them in their entirety is such a crucial part of healing, building the relationship with ourselves, stepping into our authenticity, and cultivating that raw & real self-love. & we get to feel a shit ton of joy in the process because, well, that’s your inner child’s favorite thing to do – is have fun.
Your inner child awaits with open arms.
With endless love, light & good vibes,
Ash xx
