My mother and I when we were both younger.

Honouring you inner child. Freedom in fun.

Connecting and healing your inner child. Honouring your inner child. A subject I find important to keep talking about.

As we grow up into adulthood we are told to “act your age”, “stop being childish”, “be quiet” and “stop laughing so much”. We learn to build walls to hide and protect that important part of ourselves. We become busy, stressed and bogged down by responsibilities. Before long we are living day-to-day on auto-pilot.

What if?

What if we let our inner child out to come and play? Stayed present, curious, opened to constant discovery, let our imagination flow, fostered our creativity, and loved every moment of it all?

By seeing the world around us in a youthful way, we can free ourselves of unnecessary stress and anxiety.

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Find the fun, and snap, the job’s a game.

Mary Poppins

We CAN balance both the “adult” and the “inner child”.

Start by demolishing the walls that you created around that part of yourself. The part that needed to be hidden and protected as you became an adult. Let the inner child come out. Free yourself. You deserve it.

Tiny Budda Bloghas several interesting posts the subject of Inner Child.

Be in the now.

Be present. When a child laughs or cries, it’s because of something that is happening NOW. Not because of something that happened yesterday. A child is not stuck in a moment. In fact, notice how quickly a child moves on to the next moment.

Let emotions flow through you.

Don’t push your emotions so far down that they become baggage for the rest of your life. Honor the emotion. Let it flow through you. Release it and then move on. It’s ok to cry, to be angry, and to be scared. And it’s ok to be so happy we cry and giggle at the same time.

Let energy flow through you

We all need to move like no one is watching. Convert anxiety and stress into joy by moving. Jump on a trampoline. Dance with your arms up in the air. Run around in the grass in your bare feet. If you can’t get away with doing these, go in the bathroom stall. Shimmy your shoulders, shimmy your hips, shake your hands, your arms and you legs. You will be happy and laughing in no time.

My go to list

Recently I watched a youtube video by Bill Brooks who touched on exactly what I have been telling friends and family for years. Let me share my version of this list here with you.

10 simple things

1. SMILE MORE. Children smile an average of 400 times a day vs adults 15 for adults. Smiling makes us and the people around us happy.
2. NOTICE NATURE. Touch that flower. Talk to that tree. Look through the eyes of a child.
3. CLIMB. Do you remember the last time you climbed a rock? A tree? Or hiked a mountain?
4. EMBRACE YOUR FLAWS. Kids are super proud lift their shirt and show us their tummy. JThey are not worried about how they look. It doesn’t even cross their minds that something might be “wrong” with the way they look.
5. USE YOUR IMAGINATION. Look for shapes in the clouds. Play dress-up for game night. Get on the floor and play with a chid for an hour or two.
6. BE UNPREDICTABLE. Where something totally out of your comfort zone for work today. Take a different route to the grocery store. Dance in the staff room during your break.
7. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO PLAY AND HAVE FUN. It is healing to both the adult you and to your inner child to play and have fun. No restraints.
8. CREATE. Paint. Draw. Build. What was your favorite thing to do as a child? Take time out of your busy day to do this activity.
9. GET DIRTY. Wiggles your toes in the mud. Build sand castles. Finger paint with yogurt. Experience life hands on.
10. BREAK THE RULES. Fun doesn’t follow rules. Kids don’t follow rules. As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, enjoy. Eat desert before the main course. Color outside the lines.

Be unapologetically you.

Don’t tone down your personality in fear of what others may say. Go ahead and shine. Many need your light to guide them. Others will be blinded by your light. They are likely the ones that need it the most.

The world needs your authentic self. The world needs your light. You are a gift. Remember, there is only one you. You are stealing from others by not sharing the gift that is you.

The wonderful thing about you is you are the ONLY YOU there is!

Now turn on your favorite tune and dance. Get the blood flowing. Get the heart pumping. Belly laugh. Play. Be silly. Have fun! Life is a magical thing and you deserve to live it fully.

Yours in health, happiness and success,
Nancy Shimmy