When Life is Rich

There seems to be an idea rolling around among people, that childhood is an extremely happy and sensitive period in one's life, when we still believe in everything, we still believe that everything in the world is possible and fairy tales are an active part of our reality. Then, as we grow up there's nothing but a collection of deceptions and disappointments, facing a dull outlook of life, which has no magic, no wonder, no happiness, no amazement, only duties, bills and troublesome work environments. We are being constantly bombed with this message, about how happy children are, and how wonderful would it be if we could once again walk on the face of the world in wonder. It was particularly disappointing to find such a notation in a book I was recently reading (as a matter of fact, a sample of a book I've downloaded on my Kindle, which I doubt I'll even buy now) as part of this loose little project I have about the series on Religion. Coming from a book about Wicca, I honestly expected a bit more of seriousness, and not what seems to me is an invitation to yearn for the days when we were all ignorant and gullible. The author particularly used the word "rich" to describe the life of children in comparison of that of adults. Honestly, what sort of projection is that? Pushing forward the idea that life goes from good to bad, and that the older we become the duller and darker our life turns? And magic should be about trying to run back to that state of "believe" where believe is to let behind logic and reason and trust like a child in the words of the amazement?

These words are particularly dangerous if they come into the hands of adults who are still gullible, particularly because I believe that adulthood isn't equal to dullness or a life lacking of luster and shine. Perhaps my childhood wasn't a usual one, but for instance I feel I keep the same wonderment, and still believe in pretty much the same things, only now, as a grown woman, I can reach where as I child I couldn't. My scope goes beyond the books my folks keep in their library (which as it is typical of any Hungarian family, isn't a small library), and I've the freedom now to explore far beyond. As a grown woman I've access to other wonderments back then I couldn't even phantom, and add to it, the knowledge I've gathered and continue to gather has allowed me to find bridges among the daily and the exceptional, where "mundane" is the word that would designate the wonders of everyday life, in contrast with other wonders that appear much less periodically.

The main difference between life as a child and life as an adult, is the amount of consequences from your previous actions and decisions you shall live with. Is life richer when you are more dependant on others and can pin your misfortune on your parents, family or guardians? Does it become more dull when you must realize that you are where you are because of the choices you made? As a child, if you live in a poor hut, that's because your folks are poor and can't afford anything else. If as an adult you live in a poor hut, it's because you haven't done what it takes to make it different. As kids we have a potential, as adults we live out of what we've done with that potential.

Magic, ki, prana, energy, life force, God's will... it's a wonderful, powerful, fabulous thing, but it's not something to be attained by denying any part of our lives, or a matter to erase it. Childhood is a phase, and adulthood is another, and whichever is more wonderful depends entirely of what you do with them.