I remember sitting in the big, plastic chair of a colorful children’s museum when I was four years old. I remember the smells, I remember the sights, I remember the people, but most importantly I remember how much fun I was having. I remember happiness, and satisfaction. Back when I was four, all it took to make me the happiest person on Earth were some shiny, plastic balls and lots of cool colors. Now, it seems that the older we get, the more stimulation that we need to be pleased. But, amongst all of that, I believe that we have the ability to feel that happiness that we felt when we were the kid at that children’s museum.
Back then, back in the good ‘ole days, it was easy to have fun. It was easy to have my mom tickle me or look at my dad make a funny face. As I grew older, it began to be slightly more difficult to be entertained, but bubbles and masks still sufficed. Where is this childish happiness now?
It seems that now I, along with many others, walk through life and go through the motions. Not only do we receive no pleasure from the little things, we don’t even notice them, but I believe we can stop that.
Every now and then, I’ll have a flashback to my childhood. I’ll catch a whiff of the smell from that museum or the name of that funny book, and I’ll be able to feel what I felt back then. I realize that now this sound or sight doesn’t amuse me, but all of the joy of the feeling I felt back then returns.
I only have these flashbacks when I slow down and concentrate. I believe that everyone can experience this joy if we slow down and concentrate on the small things. If we derive joy from the small things, then maybe we will be able to have the same type of childhood bliss from the big things. And once we achieve this ability to regain our bliss, our everyday lives become more than going through the motions. We can gain happiness from the things that we did as children, thus producing a more happy life.