Childhood is the phase of life where who we are, our purpose and mission into this world sets its root in order to guide us through adulthood. Yet how fast we dismiss that period of life, perhaps through rights of passage which relegate those experiences and learnings into a past both caged and locked. Keeping the sweet memories, the friendships, the sense of awe and discovery at every learnings, the feelings of joy, sorrow along with the excitement of new creative ways to have fun. Then all of a sudden, the creative learner is struck down by the expectations of maturity, adulthood and responsibility, and the games are put away in a dusty box perhaps to be handed out at some point to the next generation of children. Is that stage of life gone in the mists of the past as we become grownups? As a trainer, one of my favourite teambuilding activities is to actually feel the plenary room with toys, ask participants to recall childhood and to simply have fun; and if you saw it you’d be amazed, the amount of shouting and running, irresponsibly breaking a chair or hitting the wall, the games that get invented and the genuine fun present. Then I think to myself that no, it is not gone, its there, our child within will always be a full part of our identity and of who we are, that amazing and fast learner, that reckless kid full of life, the curious little creature that is never tired of discovering, and given the chance and opportunity that child returns to our conscious mind, and guides the responsible and mature adult in life choices and pathways. That is why we feel it is important today to celebrate the Universal Children’s Day, because it concerns all of us, from the small child up to the wise old person, each one of us has their own childhood within, and this little energetic creature is always there, with its inner strength and energy, willing to help.
L.Nava