How To Reconnect With Your Inner Child
Many of us who experience trauma or abuse early in our lives have had to grow up sooner than we’d have hoped. We lose our ability to be in tune with our inner child whom we have had to lock up to maintain control over our lives.
These illusions of control may work for some time. But as we continue to ignore our inner child, it will continue to wreak havoc in our subconscious. We become easily influenced by other forces whose wills are stronger than ours. We lose our ability to distinguish who we are from what we were told to be.
Our inability to connect with our inhibited, true self in the form of our inner child will drive us to attach our happiness and self-worth on things that don’t last — our appearances, material things, and other people’s approval.
Keep a journal
Keeping a journal is one way to understand how our experiences have shaped us and how we can choose whether or not we let them define us.
We must make peace with our experiences, even the ones that hurt. Each one is a lesson in what belongs in our lives and what doesn’t. Journalling makes us aware of how vulnerable we are to the external world, but that we always have some degree of control over how we let them control our lives.
Protect your inner child’s energy
Similar to how we wouldn’t want our children exposed to continuous negative energy and situations, we must do the same for ourselves. We can’t avoid hard situations; it’s the price of admission to having meaningful lives. But being brave doesn’t mean charging into every battle, and our inner child knows which ones are worth fighting.
We need to learn to say “no” to things to the things that we know are not good for us, or at least work towards a life that we can have a choice to be in a better place.
Be mindful of your joy
Our thoughts have a way of rewiring us and framing our experiences with the world around us. The things, activities, and relationships that give us joy are clues given to us by our inner child. They are blueprints that are specific to us. They show us how to live inherently meaningful lives, if only we dare to look.
We must train ourselves to always look towards the light, even if we can’t see it yet. Take a moment of every day to find pockets of joy — a good cup of coffee, your cat snuggling on your lap, the sunlight gently waking you up. Awareness of these little joys will prepare us for our darkest moments. Our habits will remind us where to look.
Learn to play
Many of us have been raised thinking that getting old is a serious business. This is not wrong. There will be many moments that will beat us down. The is only way to remain sane. It is to learn when to treat things seriously or just view them as part of the game of life.
Fall in love with yourself as a work in progress. Let your inner child relish in the growth of learning new things. No one said you had to be the best at something to enjoy them. Your inner child knows the truth — your life is an adventure waiting to happen. You have to trust that it will unfold the way it should.
Every day is a distinct battle between our inner child’s natural, positive energy, and the chaos of the world around us. We are beaten down every day with the responsibilities of being part of communities and things bigger than us.
Our best rebellion against the absurdity of life is to keep looking at the light, finding joy, and being at peace with ourselves. We must let our inner child know that no matter what happens, we are always, always on their side.
