I believe in the power of childhood

I believe in the power of childhood. When I was younger, my brother and I would play with our hundreds of beanie babies. It took me about two and a half trips from my room to his carrying armfuls of those soft, bean filled, plush toys. They ranged from dogs to cats, penguins to anteaters, and unicorns to dragons. Our massive collection included the baby beanies, too. In our fantasy world, anything was possible; dogs and cats were married with puppies and kittens. Usually, every epic battle had the same plot, good vs. evil. One of the beanies was captured by the “bad” beanies and the whole troop of animals set out on a mission to find them. We traveled from the Artic with penguins, seals, and polar bears to the desert with camels and snakes, gathering clues and tracking the path. Finally, we would reach our goal and find the kidnapped beanie baby, restoring peace in our make believe land.

As a child, I imagined the unimaginable, believed in the unbelievable, and created anything I set my mind to. I could constantly be found playing dolls with my mom or making up my own games with my brother. There were no limits to what I could accomplish as a child. I was encouraged and pushed to do my best and be the best I could be. One of the few things I remember from kindergarten is that I could read and other kids could not. My parents read with me every night, and I pushed myself to learn. I knew right from wrong and good from bad and had the determination to achieve any goal I set for myself. I believed that good always conquers evil and that a band-aid could fix everything.

I believe that all of the amazing qualities and characteristics that we possess during childhood are lost along the journey of growing up. If everyone in society today still possessed the attributes of the child within themselves, the world would be a much better place. If world leaders shared the natural resources or still believed that good can always conquer evil, there would be no more wars and the world could live at peace.

Maybe we should try a world-wide naptime followed by some milk and cookies. Maybe if the children help the adults learn, instead of the adults helping the children, the pattern we are creating will cease. I think we all need to learn from the children and believe that anything is possible.