Those who know me well, know how much I love the monsoons. From watching the rains from my window, to hanging my feet outside the window to wet them, to even (gasp!) jumping in the puddles – I have done (and continue to do) it all. For those who have known me for a while, and thus given up all hopes of me ever acting my age, this comes as no surprise at all. 😛 For those who have come to know me recently, it is quite a shocker to imagine someone my age (and size) jumping merrily in a puddle of water, splashing it all around. “You will be <insert any number between 30 and 40> soon, and you still jump around in the rains?? WTH!!” is the most common (and most amusing) reaction I get. My reaction to this – if you don’t know or experience the pure joy that monsoons can bring to you, you are way older than me already – in the mind, that is.

But then, this post is not about the monsoons, neither is it about my age (chronological or otherwise). It is about how we are supposed to stop behaving like a child once we can’t see the birthday cake due to all the candles. Okay, so not being childish is indeed the right thing to do, but why do we have to stop being child-like? No matter what the world says, this is something I plainly refuse to follow. And there is a big difference between being childish and being child-like. If you hold on to your grudges/opinions above everything else, you are being childish. If you still break into a smile when you see a rainbow or even a plane zooming across the sky and stretch your hands to catch it, you are child-like, and hence, my friend. 😀

Have you ever observed a child at play? When something irritates it, it will make its displeasure loud and clear by testing your ear-drums, or at the very least, your patience. But once the problem goes away, they will be back to being little angels, all the earlier brouhaha being conveniently forgotten. Does this mean that they never meant the earlier display of histrionics? Oh yes, they definitely did. Just that once their grievance was addressed, they knew how to get back to the business of enjoying life as if it is the wonderful thing they ever possessed. It is this attitude of “jo ho gaya, wo jaane do” that we lose somewhere while “growing up”. We grow more conscious of what we are “supposed to do” as against what we “want to do”. More and more of our actions are dictated by what others will make of them, instead of what we want to make of them. And then we grow disillusioned with the world, and start cribbing about how we are unhappy/dissatisfied/bored etc. But have we paused for a moment and thought to ourselves – Hey, why am I cribbing about something, when it was my choice to not follow my own instinct on this one?

Agreed that following our own instinct may not always be the easier thing to do. At times, it will simply be impossible to do, no matter how earnestly you try. At such times, don’t think that you chose the wrong course of action. It was just that things were not in your favour, and it simply means that its not your time yet. It will soon be, sure as daylight after night. 🙂 All that is fine and dandy, you may say, but what to actually “do” in such a situation? Once again, I will point you to that little child. Observe what they do after you’ve firmly denied them what they want. They will surely sulk for a while, but leave them alone for some time, and they will be back to what they do best. They will not bother about the world outside and start being happy with themselves. When we seek those moments of being child-like in our grown-up, routine life, THAT is what we should be doing – creating our own little wonderlands where our inner child can prosper. 🙂

So, the next time you see a plane flying overhead, reach out to it – I am sure you will be able to catch it. 🙂

P.S: Oh, and if you see a puddle, go jump right in. It IS awesome fun. 😀