THE MAGIC OF CHILDHOOD
IS THE STRANGENESS OF CHILDHOOD -
THE UNIQUENESS THAT MAKES US
SEE THINGS THAT OTHER PEOPLE DON'T SEE.
(Maurice Sendak)
I was a weird kid. (I know, big surprise.) And, although I'm no longer a kid, I'm still weird. I often see and hear and feel things others don't. I imagine and I create and I stew and I linger and I listen for the world that exists just below the thin skin of this "real" one. It's alive and it's breathing and it's pulsing and it's stirring and it's waiting.
Children know it. Writers and artists and other creatives know it. Anyone can recognize it . . . if they let themselves, if they let themselves go.
This week, let's draw upon - and rejoice in! - that magic ourselves and encourage everyone we know to do the same.
I see roses in winter, and the sea when I'm inland on a hot day. I see the peacock and hens that are no longer in our garden and a little grey squirel running over the paving slabs early in the morning. And the smiles of my departed loved ones. Then I turn away and get on with life.
ReplyDeleteFrancene - that was lovely! Thank you for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteMy children remind me of this every day. They help me not take myself so seriously and to have fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Madeline!
Emily - you're welcome! Even though you didn't really need me to remind you. :)
ReplyDeleteAmen! Last week someone looked at me and said, "You're really different." I turned to them and said, "Well, thank you!" ;)
ReplyDeleteand thats how writers stay young too =)
ReplyDeletenever stop believing in fiction!
Lisa - I love that! :)
ReplyDeleteTara - I'm with you. I don't ever want to stop believing in stories. :)
Great advice, Madeline.
ReplyDeleteOne of my bosses told me during a meeting that "You don't think like anyone else I've ever met." I took it as a compliment.
And I'm going to try the suggestions for boosting my brain power that you left on Cathy C. Hall's blog.
Donna - good for you! :) Be careful if you try the standing on one leg thing. It's not as easy as it sounds - I've tried it.
ReplyDeleteLet's hear it for the weird! I think there's a lot to be said for not abandoning our inner child. I mean really. Just think back to when you were lost at Sears amongst the jungle of clearance racks, and at the age of 4 you were convinced your mom had left you to your fate -- oh, wait. That was me. =[
ReplyDeleteMilo - ha! Maybe Capt Quasar can have an adventure at a space age Sears? Get back at those bad old clearance racks? :)
ReplyDelete