I feel like there isn’t much to say about this because there is so much out there that goes into detail. Blogs and videos and classes. You name it, it’s out there. Taking care of your inner child is not something that is hard at this point. Well Taking care of your inner child can be hard at times, but finding the information about it really isn’t. There are whole ass books about it if you would like. The information is there you just gotta go find it.
That is not what this is about really. This is just me telling you how it helped me really. And maybe help you find some freedom to.
First thoughts
What I do want to talk about is why. The thing is, we seem to forget that until your between the ages of six and seven, there is no barrier between the conscious and subconscious. There is no base to compare whatever you’re facing. There is no preconceived notion to help you navigate whatever it is that you are facing. Whatever is in front of you, that’s your whole world. If a child is scared, all there is in the world is fear. If they are happy, all there is in the world is happy. Etc etc. And slowly overtime, the subconscious mind is solidified and thus setting the foundation for your whole life.
The whole fucking thing. No joke.
This is why Empathy is something that is developed later on in life, and why kids lack any and all impulse control. They are not trying to make you frustrated, there brain just straight up does not do it. There brain is developing still. Which is why I think being respectful to your babies is important.
And parents don’t always realize that. They are human, and make human choices. You don’t have to have gone through a major event to have trauma or limiting beliefs from that time. It’s all about the story we tell ourselves in that time about whatever is happening. It can be as simple as mom didn’t listen to my story. Or dad lost his cool one night.
Which by the way seems to make parents really nervous about their parenting. But I will get into that another time. It’s not as hard as you think. promise.
Anyway, taking care of that part of you, also helps heal the subconscious mind, releasing traumas and limiting beliefs and ideals that keep you from the life you want. Going back to that space and healing and taking care of yourself is vital to the whole story. Being playful and silly and alive is not a bad thing. It’s just something most of us are ashamed of because of the way we grew up. See that really fun little cycle? Yeah, it’s a relenting bitch, that only stops when you take the time to be playful and tell yourself the whole story.
What I did
The thing about taking care of your inner child, is that sometimes at first it feels foolish. But honestly, just doing things little you wanted to do that you didn’t get to do usually does the trick. There is other things you can do to truly heal those parts of you, there is more to the equation then what I am going to talk about here. It’s all-important! But I just want to talk about how to bring that part of you out.
For me, this was FUCKING HARD.
I had been suppressing that playful and childlike part of me for so long that I didn’t even know where to start and every single time I tried… I could never get into it. Like ever. As a young adult, I was not playful, and children things were for children. I was hard and rough and honestly, angry. But that was the exact reason that I needed to take care of my inner child. Those things are not things I wanted to be. They came naturally to me, and I was comfortable being that way. I was turned off by simple pleasures and childish things because little me was always expected to be a certain way. My subconscious was FULL of limiting beliefs and getting myself to a point where I could heal that part of me was brutal. I cried. A lot.
It felt foreign and wrong and just straight up stupid. Like gave me the desire to throw up kind of wrong.
I may have had some… issues. Okay? It is what it is.
But fuck when I let go… The feeling was euphoric. And I have never been the same. I tell people all the time there is nothing quite like letting go. The rush and the high and the freedom that comes with just saying fuck it, is nothing short of amazing. Not just with this but in life in general.
What I did do?
Look, I can’t tell you what your inner child needs. I really can’t. Only you know that. But I can tell you what I did and hopefully spark some yummy ideas.
Finger painting. Fuck was that weird and I STRUGGLED. Now I do it all the time and don’t even think about it. I had taken art classes and had been classically trained (at the very base level) so forgoing the paint brushes and spatulas and tools in favor of my fingers felt like I was breaking all the rules and could never create anything amazing. It felt limiting.
The thing is… it didn’t have to be fucking amazing. I had to get it through my thick ass skull that not everything I do has to be profound and amazing. Now I do it every time I need a good energy shift. No one likes a resting bitch personality and if I have had a long hard day… guess what I am?!
I also did things like playing dress up. Though my taste was significantly more adult than it would have been as a child, it was still so playful and yummy. Just putting myself together and making myself into things I will never be, was honestly so fun once I got into it.
Now I do it in scantly clothing that makes me feel like a goddess, take some pictures, and sell them… I may have missed the mark on that one as it evolved… but still do it.
Dancing around the house! Fuck that has become one of my favorite things. Tapping into that part of my childlike brain and being fully in the moment was one of the most transformative and releasing things I had ever done. I was always so carful about the way my body looked and the way I held myself. Now I don’t give a flying fuck. If you don’t like the way I look, stop looking my dude. One of us has the problem here and it sure as fuck is not me.
Playful songs
Playing in the mud
Laughing way too hard at stupid shit.
Watching Cartoons on a Saturday morning with a bowl of cereal. It doesn’t have the same effect that it did when I was a kid. Something about having to race to the bathroom, or race to get whatever I need while the commercials were being played really did add a little something. But hey its still nice.
Overall
For real, what did little you want? What did the child in you long for that you never got to do for one reason or another? There are a million things it could be. I didn’t even come close to scratching the surface. And I find things often that I do just for the sake of doing it. It can be hard at first, but don’t get discouraged. Life is hard. But you are worth it.
Podcast going more in depth about this will be coming soon.
