Adults just love asking kids that question for some reason. I mean, we know that what they say has no relation to what will actually unfold. We know that they have no idea what is possible and they will just pick things that sound exciting and that they’ve been told they should want such as fireman or policeman or pirate or princess or pirate princess or *name any super hero*. Sometimes I think we ask them just so we can give them grief in later life. “Remember when you wanted to be a _____ when you grew up? No? Here, lets watch the video…” But what if what they pick isn’t off base or just something they’ve been told to want? What if they are telling the truth? What happens when their soul says they want to be X and we then spend the next eternity telling them they are wrong, they should be more practical, that what they’ve chosen isn’t a thing and they need to grow up?
People get confused between things they enjoyed in childhood and childish things. Between what they want to be when they grow up and what they should be. There is a difference. We grow out of childish things, not necessarily because they are childish, which just means wonderful for children, but because other things become a priority. Some people grow out of Legos and other’s never do hence there are artists working in Legos such as Bricksy who recreates Banksy pieces in Legos. I could list pages of examples such as this. So how can we determine what is a childish thing and what is something we have loved since childhood? Well, have you outgrown it? Is it something that is still on your mind 20-30-40 years later? Then it’s more than likely not childish. Childish things fall away on their own and become memories (or fetishes) which decorate our lives. The things we have loved since the beginning and that we continue to love, those aren’t childish, they are joyous expressions of self.
So what to do about it? Um…if something has persisted for that long, perhaps there’s something to it. Maybe you should investigate how to do/be/be part of this thing. I mean, you may not be able to become a prima ballerina at this point, but it’s never too late to take ballet classes and get the benefit. Maybe from there you meet people and come into contact with other dance forms that are more in sync with who you have become. You may not be able to build skyscrapers at this point, but you can volunteer for Habitat for Humanity or work with groups who the elderly and in need to repair their homes or modify them for accessibility. Whatever your heart is still talking about all this time later deserves not only to be heard, but to have just a wee bit of your time and attention. It could be the key you’ve been looking for to unlock your potential or that life you’ve been searching for. What are you waiting for?