I distinctly remember as a kid being extra attached to things, people, and situations. I’d fixate on a good feeling, a fantastic memory, or my favorite toy and it would become a focal point of my world. I mean, what kid hasn’t gone through that stage even for the most minuscule of time periods? We all have our stage where we fixate on the good and resist change. But we grow out of it eventually.
We go through our educational journeys, find ourselves a nice job, and settle into the routine of the rest of the world. Slowly but surely, though, we find ourselves failing to see the bright, happy moments that we used to see as kids. Have you ever wondered why we lose that excitement as we get older? Some people claim it is a loss of innocence. Maybe. Perhaps it’s the realization that things like Santa and the Tooth Fairy are fables role played by the adults in our life.
Or it’s also the potential that we have lost the magic, the initial spark that makes life so much more enjoyable for children. When you look at about 75% of the adult world out there (at least for me here in the Sunshine State), people aren’t as happy go lucky as children running around the playground and complaining about math homework from time to time. They just aren’t. So what makes kids find that magic that makes happiness grow so rapidly within them?
Gratitude.
Kids have an immense capacity for gratitude, at least most of them, because of the fact that they are experiencing everything for the first time. Everything is new and exciting and we have lost that once we venture into adulthood. I’ve spent years returning to that happy, fun spirit that I used to have as a kid. And to be honest, when someone says that I am a little too happy about life, that’s a compliment to me. In my opinion, people can always find the bright side to life!
So where do you stand? Have you found yourself losing the gratefulness that life presents before you with every new opportunity? Where can you see the bright side as you go through your days? It’s not an easy transition, but it’s one that will alter the world around you. Because, as someone once told me, the world is not really so gray after all. Sometimes, you just have to change the lenses through which you see the world.
