Only Pirates Grow Up

When did it happen? When was the exact moment that we adults decided that life was far too serious to use our imaginations? When did it become too un-adult to make sock puppets? Or to give dogs silly voices? When was the moment that we decided that an adult was devoid of play and fun?

I personally was reluctant to grow up, I was almost 15 when I put away my girly toys, mostly because no one would play with me anymore, and the shame that was placed on that sort of fun. I suppose its a part of growing up, that declaration that you are an adult now and do not need toys. But what do you do when you put away the toys?

For me I put away the toys and almost instantly turned to alcohol and drugs, those were adult things, or at least the adults I had known. Even now that I barely ever have a drop of alcohol and never partake in drugs, adults, my peers, seem to have no idea what to do with me. They offer a drink and I say, no thanks, and they become very uncomfortable, often assuming that I am some sort of snob or my favourite, think myself too “good” to drink.

The truth is, I hate being drunk, I dislike the feeling of not being connected to my body. I have finally become comfortable in my own skin and the last thing I want to do is disorient my mind and body for a “good time”. I like to remember when I am a fool, and I don't need alcohol or other substances to be my excuse for a good time or my excuse for bad behaviour, no substance need for that.

Sense of Wonder

What I find interesting is how much more acceptable it is for someone to be drunk or high walking down the street then someone to be, lets say, dressed up as Tinkerbell blowing bubbles down the street. Why is it that joy without materialism is so foreign to us? I have often been stopped on the street not in costume and asked why I am so happy, why am I always smiling and it always seems like such a silly question to me. The answer is I know the secret, that life is a grand adventure and I have learned to be the genesis of my own joy. I have learned that life is a game and to play it well you must look upon each moment with a sense of wonder like a child.

We adults do ourselves a disservice the moment we put aside our childlike sense of wonder and replace it with chasing our proverbial tails, searching for a tomorrow that never comes. We save the fun for later, or we hide the joy behind bottles or substances that only trick the mind, not to being happy but simply to the point where we don't care. We are a society of pirates, more interested in acquiring gold that we have been fooled into believing is happiness, we are too serious to play, too dignified to have improper fun like swinging on a swing or pretending or making believe. There are more treasures within our minds and imaginations then there is in a treasure trove.

We have grown up so serious that we can no longer see the wonder that is life. War is not human tragedy; the blindness to wonder is.