We All Just Want to Be Kids Again

If you hang around kids like I do, you start noticing something that adults either forget or don’t want to admit.

Kids don’t have all that hate in their hearts.

They don’t sit around obsessing about who’s right, who’s wrong, who’s better, who’s richer, who’s more important, who’s winning, or who’s losing. They don’t wake up thinking about grudges or revenge or proving some point to the world.

They just want to hang out.

They want to play. They want to laugh. They want to run around. They want to be included. They want to have fun. They want to feel safe.

And here’s the part that really hits me…

When kids hurt someone’s feelings, they don’t double down. They don’t argue their case. They don’t justify it. They don’t pretend it didn’t happen. They don’t blame the other person for being “too sensitive.”

They stop.

You can literally see it on their face. They realize they hurt someone. And it bothers them. It bothers them because they still have that natural human wiring that says, “I don’t want to cause pain.”

Then they say the words adults struggle with the most:

“I’m sorry.”

And they mean it.

Now don’t get me wrong… kids still get mad. Kids still fight. Kids still get jealous. Kids still get dramatic over nothing. But they don’t carry around hate like adults do. They don’t let it become their personality.

The only things kids truly hate are naps and broccoli.

Everything else is negotiable.

Then somewhere along the road we “grow up.” That’s what we call it anyway.

But I’m not sure we grow up.

I think we transform.

We turn into something else.

We become these creatures that want to get ahead at all costs. We become creatures that want to win arguments instead of solve problems. We become creatures that keep score. We become creatures that judge people we don’t even know. We become creatures that feel offended by everything and grateful for nothing.

We become creatures that yell.

And it’s not even always yelling out loud. Sometimes it’s yelling online. Sometimes it’s yelling in our heads. Sometimes it’s yelling through sarcasm, bitterness, resentment, and constant complaining.

And once that starts, it spreads.

One person gets angry, so another person gets angry back. Someone gets insulted, so they insult back harder. People take sides. Then they take pride in their side. Then they start hating the other side. Then they start assuming the worst about everyone.

And before you know it, the world becomes one big shouting match.

And here’s the funny part…

I often joke when my daughters are yelling at their kids because they’re getting too loud or too crazy. They’ll say, “Stop acting like children!”

And I’ll chime in and say, “Yeah… stop acting like children and be like us.”