Innocence Is Bliss

I took today off of work and it feels free and exciting, like an unexpected snow day when you’re a kid. Let’s see what I do with it.

More later.

The topic of our morning discussion over coffee was those pure, childhood feelings and experiences. It started with how the start of a three day weekend is, to an adult, what a snow day feels like to a kid. We thought of the best moments when we were kids: Christmas morning, going to the lake, the first day of Summer vacation, the feeling after a day of swimming in the sun, etc…..

I described them as unadulterated feelings and then realized the double meaning, or play on the word, and how inadvertently appropriate that description was.

Adulterate- to debase or make impure by adding inferior materials or elements.

This is exactly what life does to those kind of moments. The impurities being bias, repetition and distractions gained by experiencing the reality of the world. The layers of contaminated perspective that cloud the purity of those same experiences that only adulthood can apply.

The continued ability to experience life like a child without the tarnish is probably the greatest accomplishment that a person can merit for the sake of a truly happy life. I do well at this, but, I endeavor to do it even better.

Some may say that “You need to experience the darkness before you can fully appreciate the light.” but I disagree. It is not about appreciation; that is an adultism. It is the pure experience without any expectations that makes those childhood moments magical. A simple experience of joy amidst a clean innocence is the magic.

I suppose this is just a lengthy “adulteration” of the simple adage “Ignorance is bliss.” I would say “Innocence is bliss.” is more appropriate.

JArtB

November 11, 2014