1396. We not only need to have a deep respect for children; but also a deep respect for the child in everyone. ~C. JoyBell C.

A grownup is
a child with layers on.
~Woody Harrelson

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Do you think that child in you actually died at some point in time along the way of your growing and becoming an adult? Well, it didn’t! It is still alive and he/she needs to be nurtured for the betterment of your adult health and well-being. This does not mean you should behave in a childish manner nor give up your autonomy. But it never hurts every now and again to “Anticipate the day as if it were your birthday and you’re turning six again.” (Mike Dolan)

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The right to play is one of the divine rights of men and women, of boys and girls, and is just as essential to the peace, happiness and prosperity of the world as is the right to pray. ~Silas X. Floyd

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One of the virtues of being very young is that you don’t let the facts get in the way of your imagination. ~Sam Levenson

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Creativity represents a miraculous coming together of the uninhibited energy of the child with its apparent opposite and enemy, the sense of order imposed on the disciplined adult intelligence. ~Norman Podhoretz

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I am often accused of being childish. I prefer to interpret that as child-like. I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things. I tend to exaggerate and fantasize and embellish. I still listen to instinctual urges. I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. I never water my garden without soaking myself.  It has been after such times of joy that I have achieved my greatest creativity and produced my best work. ~Leo F. Buscaglia, professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California, best-selling author, and motivational speaker

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Imagination is our inner-child and creativity, its playground. ~Jaeda DeWalt

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Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.  ~Heraclitus

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It is a happy talent to know how to play.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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If one looks closely at Creation, he/she can easily see that even the Lord has a playful side. So it is that we must honor and nurture what God has chosen to include in us. My husband is 81 years old and has been playing golf since he was a young boy. And I would double dog dare anyone to try talk him into stopping playing! I can assure you it would defninitely be a daunting task! Now, has your adult self spent time with your inner child today? The people in that last collage have!

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~Matthew 19:14  ✝

**Photos via Pinterest and Pixabay; collages created by Natalie

592. What in your life is calling you, when all the noise is silenced, the meetings adjourned, the lists laid aside, and the wild Iris blooms by itself in the dark forest, what still pulls on your soul? ~Rumi

Inside the silence between
your heartbeats hides a summons.
Do you hear it? Listen.
Quiet the voices and noise around you.
Honor the Holy One calling you!
~Author Unknown

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We run, we walk, we stumble, we fall, we get up, and then we move on. This is a scenario that time after time plays out in our lives. But what is it that gets us back up after our dreams have been shattered and/or suffering or loss has occurred? Is it sufficient numbers in a bank account? Is it the comfort and safety of four walls and a roof over our heads? Is it ample food and adequate clothing? Is it a job and transportation to and from work? Is it education and knowledge of scientific avowals? Or… is it instead a growing inkling of divine purpose? It’s that “still, small voice” mentioned in Holy Writ which encourages us to finish the race set before us no matter what, isn’t it? And doesn’t the voice also strengthen us and cheer us on in the face of the unknown and the possibility of additional vexing difficulties? If so, aren’t we then able to discern divine threads of intent running through our lives? And can’t we see that those threads gather together the moments of joy and gladness and triumph so that we’re able to face trials and defeats? Moreover aren’t those ever-increasing threads what make us willing to walk again, run again, stumble again, fall again, get up again, and move on even though momentarily discouraged and weary? In the end do we not become awed and filled with growing gratitude because we know that this life isn’t an end in itself but instead a preparation for something greater, even if the something more isn’t clearly defined yet?

Before we acquired knowledge, speech, reason and the ability to get up and down, we, each and every one of us, dauntlessly fought a painful battle just to push our way from our mother’s womb into this world. Thus there just has to be more to life than material gain and acquisitions, temporal pleasure and comfort, endurance of the noisy and mundane, and forbearance of senseless cruelty and violence. Surely in moments of utter stillness and silence, with an emptied mind, we can all hear the Lord’s gentle, reassuring voice. You’ve heard it, haven’t you? That sweet, inner voice, not audible in your ears but loud and clear in your heart of hearts, echoing protective warnings, comforting reassurances, compelling directives, and supportive nudgings. I pray it be so because ours is a deliberate tale, a grand and sacred love story written by the hands of God.

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. ~Acts 20:24   ✝

** Image via Pinterest