Returning to Innocence

What was Innocence? Childhood years were filled with beautiful innocence and a passion for learning new things. Innocence was an astonishing period when life was worried free and filled with wonder and awe. Innocence was a sense when we seized the excitement of life that was uniquely ourselves. When we saw a butterfly land on a flower for the first time, we ran into the house with excitement and asked our mother "where do butterflies come from?" Our parents played an important role as teachers connecting us to our natural universe; answering those types of questions like "Why are the trees green and the sky blue?" It was our introduction to life outside our own world. It was our first time realizing we were a part of something greater than ourselves.

So why did we lose our innocence? Was it because we allowed all the noise in our life to take over our thinking? We rushed here or there between a job and family only to find ourselves exhausted and wondering what the purpose of life was. We allowed other's to rent space in our heads with their negative thoughts and impressions merely to create more confusion on what our own destiny should be. And in turn this created fear which builds our walls in what should be life's simplistic design.

For me, life has been like a rose. You were born with the pedals closed. As the rose unfolds one petal at a time, a piece of your innocence goes away. It can be painful. It can be joyous. It was replaced with a bit of knowledge that was to guide you to your destiny. We all want it, but how we get it can have its obstacles. Losing a love one or your job can make you believe you have no destiny. If only we realized that everyone goes through the pains of life and not put pressure upon ourselves to feel hopeless, and learn from this. It's so easy to get caught up in self sabotage, self denials, and even self hatred. This is what keeps us from finding our destiny. We must look into our hearts and return to ourselves. Innocence can return when life feels new again. For me, I have found my innocence again.