Halloween was a major holiday in my childhood home and that was all because of my mother… not that she was a witch… well, actually, she was a witch, but she wasn’t a practitioner of the evil arts from the dark side.
She dressed up as a witch on Halloween to make that one day each year unique, more special, more fun for kids… even to the point of having a real metal cauldron smoldering smoke into the night air… It was dry ice really, but it surely wafted through the air like smoke from a witch’s brew! She kept it next to her on our front porch on Halloween night, stirring it occasionally as she gave out candy to the hundreds of kids who came through our neighborhood.
The heck of it is that she really didn’t even start dressing up as a witch until my sisters and I practically were grown!
So, why did this then-middle-aged woman dress in a witch’s costume for Halloween for children, many of whom she didn’t even know? Well, for one thing, she never forgot her own perspective as a child. So, she dearly relished sharing with kids the magic of childhood. I’ve identified these five life lessons I learned from my mother’s inner child:
- Kids matter! After all, they’re people, too! Someday they’ll grow up, but if you as a parent or teacher work hard enough at it, they’ll still retain some childlike wonder… and even some degree of innocent love and, conversely, a lovely innocence!
- Perspective makes all the difference! If you really want to affect somebody, to reach them in a special way, you have to understand their perspective, how they see the world! The question at Halloween, as one example, isn’t what’s important to the adults. Instead, if you want to influence the kids, focus on what is important to them!
- Imagination enhances life and our own personal worldview! As one example, clouds are nice enough as clouds go, but imagining that the cloud floating in front of you, up in the sky, is a ship on the sea or a fiery dragon, or any of a hundred other things brings it – and you – to life!
- Retain your own inner child! Other influences, ranging from peer pressure starting in late elementary school to endless duties and obligations as adults often relegate a person’s inner child to a memory… whatever you do, don’t let that happen! … Because if you do, odds are that at some point your inner child will go away and never come back!
- Enjoy life! I know that’s a slight variation on No. 4, but it’s worth repeating. Despite all the challenges she faced in adult life – as we all do – I firmly believe that my mother simply and consciously refused to surrender that last little bit of childlike wonder until her final moments of life. We all should be so blessed!